A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat 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 participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided 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 had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
