A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group 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 communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
