A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct 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 internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
