A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
