A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine 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 approved for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
