A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated 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 planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information 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 possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
