A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
