A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly 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 participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious 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 service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added 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 unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
