A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included 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 authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
