A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
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 intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
