A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material 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 statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
