A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. 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 former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
