A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
