A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials 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 actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
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 shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
