A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
