A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed 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 jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
