A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
