A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
