A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached 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 dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed 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 actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
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 obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
