A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
