A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
