A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included 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 participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, 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 politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
