A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential 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.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
