A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
