A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator 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 participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally 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 statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
