A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals 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 commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
