Ousted Pentagon officials question leak investigation claims

20/4/2025 12:20

Dan Caldwell, once one of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's most senior advisors, issued a joint statement on Saturday along with two other Pentagon officials casting doubt on an internal leak investigation that led to their ouster this week.



Caldwell posted on X, "We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door."



Caldwell and the others added: "We still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of 'leaks' to begin with."



After Caldwell, the Pentagon also ousted less senior officials Darin Selnick, who recently became Hegseth's deputy chief of staff, and Colin Carroll, who was chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg.



The statement by Caldwell, Selnick and Carroll suggested they did not leak sensitive or classified information, saying: "We understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it."