A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
