A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
