A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
