A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly 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 do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
