A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
