A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
