A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator 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 do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
