A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated 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 possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
