A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials 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 conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
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 asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
