A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
