A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator 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 communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
