A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
