A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
