A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly 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 Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
