A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
