A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
