A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
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 considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.