A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator 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 participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
