A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly 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 Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
