A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser 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 transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
