A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly 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 participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared 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 material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
