A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details 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 chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct 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 handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
