A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
