A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
