A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
