A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
