A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
