A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat 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 are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
