A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated 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 report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
