A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars 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 officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
