A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
