A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
