A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives 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 completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
