A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by 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 militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included 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 participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
