A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
