A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel 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 shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
