A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
Eva de Vries is a passionate book lover and local writer from Eindhoven.
