A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly 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 officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
