A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included 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 are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
