A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser 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 authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
