A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
