A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included 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 officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
