A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed 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 former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed 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 investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
