A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
