A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
