A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
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 conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
