A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly 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 publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
