A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
