A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned 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 then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
