A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
