A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded 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.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
