A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
