A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
