A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included 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 focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
