A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included 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 officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
