A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
