A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included 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 do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
