A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation 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 transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
