A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
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 conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
