A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly 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 participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
