A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct 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 sensitive material.
Potential 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 service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
