A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
