A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
