A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
