A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. 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 considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
