A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
