A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted 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 possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
