A senior advisor to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was removed from the Pentagon and placed on administrative leave, as reported by a Defense Department official.
Dan Caldwell was suspended due to an “unauthorized disclosure” of information amid an ongoing investigation into leaks originating from within the Pentagon. Caldwell, who is known for his foreign policy realism, previously collaborated with the restraint-focused think tank Defense Priorities and Concerned Veterans for America, which was once led by Hegseth. He has been a strong proponent of significantly reducing the U.S. military footprint in Europe and withdrawing troops from Iraq and Syria.
Recently, the Pentagon announced a new initiative aimed at identifying individuals leaking information from within the Defense Department concerning “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information.” The announcement indicated that the DoD would employ polygraph tests to determine who was allegedly leaking sensitive or classified data.
DOD Chief of Staff Joe Kasper stated in a memo, “The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy.” He added, “This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense.”According to the memo, “The report will include a complete record of unauthorized disclosures within the Department of Defense and recommendations to enhance such efforts.”
The memo further mentioned that “information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure” would be forwarded for criminal prosecution.
Caldwell’s close relationship with Hegseth was underscored in a leaked Signal chat regarding U.S. strikes on the Houthis, where Hegseth referred to him as the Pentagon’s point of contact for the operation. This private conversation was revealed after National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the group.
This leak is distinct from the incident involving the unauthorized disclosure of classified U.S. intelligence regarding the bombs deployed in Iran.
The intense backlash against the reporting by CNN and the New York Times indicates that Trump is more upset than usual about the leak of a study asserting that a dozen 30,000-pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs failed to impede Iran’s nuclear enrichment efforts.
Trump has directed blame towards members of Congress and asserted that the White House will reduce the frequency of briefings on military operations.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine, are conducting a press conference at the Pentagon. I will provide any news updates here.
General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, remarked that on Monday morning, they received ‘indications and warnings that Iran intended to attack U.S. bases in the region’ and subsequently evacuated most of their personnel.
‘I wish to share some of the assessments provided. Regardless of whether it is fake news, CNN, MSNBC, or the New York Times, there has been excessive praise for the preliminary assessment. I have not yet had the opportunity to review it; every outlet has reported on the preliminary assessment from DIA. I am examining it right now; it is preliminary, a day and a half after the actual strike, and it acknowledges that it requires 82 weeks to gather the necessary data; it is preliminary,’ Hegseth stated.
‘It highlights that it is not coordinated with the intelligence community whatsoever, there is low confidence in this report, there are gaps in information, and it states that multiple critical assumptions underpin this report, which means that your entire premise is based on a critical assumption. If you are incorrect, everything else is incorrect. This report recognizes the likelihood of significant damage. It was leaked because someone had an agenda to obscure the facts and portray this historic strike as unsuccessful. We will hear from the chairman shortly, who will outline the specifics based on his professional military experience,’ Hegseth continued.
