Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth US troops risked being put at risk by sharing highly sensitive information about military operations on a Signal group chat earlier this year, a report has found.
Classified report, conducted by the Inspector GeneralIt was sent to Congress Tuesday night, and was first detailed by CNN. An unclassified version of the report will be released publicly on Thursday.
Earlier this year Hegseth sent several Message about air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen In a group chat on the private messaging app that included other senior members of the administration, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This also included editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg Atlantic, Which was added by mistake by a national security advisor.
Messages, first reported Atlantic, It contained classified and real-time information about the attacks and was so specific that one could read: “This is when the first bombs will fall.”
This incident immediately became a scandal known as “signal-gate” as many people mocked Hegseth for this mistake.
According to CNN, the inspector general said in his report that there was no documentation that proved Hegseth had made the information public before sharing it on the chat. The Defense Secretary declined to be interviewed for the report and instead presented his version of events in writing.
“The Inspector General’s review is a complete exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew – no classified information was shared. This matter has been resolved and the case is closed,” Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement shared. Independent.
It was later revealed that the information Hegseth was accused of sharing on the chat came from a file labeled “SECRET/NOFORN”, contrary to claims made by the administration after the incident that no classified information was disclosed.
The attack plan was initially shared in a classified email to more than a dozen defense officials by General Michael Kurila, commander of United States Central Command, which is in charge of US military operations in the Middle East.
The incident in March is part of a wider report following Hegseth’s investigation into Signal’s use.
According to CNN, the report said Hegseth should not have used the messaging platform and that better training on protocol is needed for DOD officials.
Controversy has once again arisen around Hegseth, most recently over his handling of alleged drug-boat and “narco-terrorist” attacks in the Caribbean. Reactions from critics have ranged from calls for the Defense Secretary to be fired to labeling him a “war criminal.”
report from Washington Post The first strikes against alleged drug boats in September included an initial attack that left two survivors, but the Pentagon chief Ordered to “kill them all”.
Hegseth, a military veteran and former Fox News host, vehemently denied the claims and dismissed them as “fabricated, inflammatory and defamatory” in social media posts. of post Article.
On Sunday, Donald Trump strongly supported his defense secretary’s account of the events of September 2, saying: “Pete said that’s not what happened.”
Despite denials, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has now formed announced that they are launching an investigation The follow-up strike and the Caribbean operation come amid previous concerns over the legality of the military strikes – which have now been going on for several months and have killed more than 80 people.