A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. 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 operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
