A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
