A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator 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 do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
