A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
