A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator 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 do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right 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 expected to be made public in the coming days.
