A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
