A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
