A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly 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 do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
