A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions 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 sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety 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 distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized 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 in the coming days.
