A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies 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 air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
