A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included 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 participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
