A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. 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 declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
