A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
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 actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
