A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
