A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
