A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against 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 Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, 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.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
