‘Unconscionable’: Former top aides to Defense Secretary Hegseth blast Pentagon leaks investigation

Three former key Defense Department advisers said they have had their character “slandered” amid an ongoing internal Pentagon investigation into leaks of sensitive information.

The three men — Dan Caldwell, an aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Mr. Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff — released a blistering joint statement on X on Saturday about the situation.

The three men were reportedly removed from their posts and escorted out of the Pentagon last week.

“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,” they wrote in their joint statement.

“At this time, 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,” they said. “While this experience has been unconscionable, we remain supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength. We hope in the future to support those efforts in different capacities.”

The Pentagon announced the leaks investigation last month following reports that tech billionaire and Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk was set to receive a classified briefing on Pentagon war plans with China. The Trump administration vehemently denied those reports, and the briefing reportedly never took place.

As part of the investigation, Defense Department officials said that Pentagon personnel could be subjected to lie detector tests.

“This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense,” Joe Kasper, Mr. Hegseth’s chief of staff, wrote in a memo last month. “The report will include a complete record of unauthorized disclosures within the Department of Defense and recommendations to improve such efforts.”