A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
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 claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
