Two Top Pentagon Officials Suspended Amid Leak Investigation

Two defense officials confirmed that Dan Caldwell was placed on administrative leave and that security escorted him out of the Pentagon on Tuesday.

According to Politico, Darin Selnick, the deputy chief of Pentagon staff, was also suspended and escorted from the building.

Officials said Caldwell’s abrupt downfall was linked to an investigation regarding the unauthorized disclosure of information by the department. They spoke under the condition of anonymity in order to discuss personnel issues.

Caldwell was a Marine Corps veteran who worked closely alongside Hegseth. Hegseth was designated as his point person by Caldwell in the Signal chat used by top Trump administration national security officials, including Hegseth, to communicate plans for a strike against Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

The group, which was set up by Michael Waltz as national security adviser, included several Cabinet members. Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, joined the chat.

Officials did not reveal what kind of leaks were being investigated. However, there was a crackdown on disclosures of classified or sensitive information in the Pentagon, and this began even before the news of the Signal Chat broke on March 24, 2017.

Caldwell and Hegseth have been friends since Hegseth was the director of Concerned Veterans for America. This nonprofit fell into financial difficulties during Hegseth’s tenure. Caldwell began working at CVA in 2013 as the policy director and then as executive director.

Reuters was the first to report Caldwell’s removal.

Joe Kasper wrote in a memo dated March 21, that Hegseth’s chief of Staff, Joe Kasper was investigating leaks of information about national security. Defense Department employees could be subjected to polygraph tests.

The memo mentioned “recent unauthorised disclosures” but did not provide any details. Kasper warned Hegseth that an investigation would be launched immediately, and a report would be sent to him.

Kasper wrote in his memo: “I expect that I will be notified immediately if the information obtained from this effort identifies a party who is responsible for an unauthorised disclosure and that the information will be forwarded to the appropriate criminal law-enforcement entity for criminal prosecution.”

Caldwell, who graduated from Arizona State University in 2011, also worked as a public policy adviser at Defense Priorities, a think tank based in Washington.