A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions 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 sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
