A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added 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 unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
