A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light 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 then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
