A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials 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 Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
