A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
