A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
