A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
