A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included 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 participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined 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.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
