A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
