A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided 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 declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
