A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
