A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
