A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
