A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
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 actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
