A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
