A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials 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 officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview 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 operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
