A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator 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 participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
