A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator 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 participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
