A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
