A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
