A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
