A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine 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 authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
