A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
