A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified 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 declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
