A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included 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 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 authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided 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 considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
