A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
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 disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
