A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist 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 investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
