A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information 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 document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
