A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
