A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light 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 then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, 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 considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
