A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion 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 report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
