A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting 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 former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
