A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly 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 participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
