A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. 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 former security advisor 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 transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
