A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
