A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. 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 had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
