A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly 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 participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary'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 response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated 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 anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
