A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined 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 chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed 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 former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
