A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly 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 commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
