A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained 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 individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
