A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
