A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
