A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
