A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information 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 politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
