A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
