A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
