A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included 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 focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, 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.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
