A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
