A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly 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 officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
