A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
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 downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
