A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine 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 handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
