A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
