A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
