Two top advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were escorted out of the Pentagon and placed on administrative leave on Tuesday after being identified in an investigation as leakers, according to two officials.
The officials were Dan Caldwell, a top adviser to Hegseth, and Darin Selnick, the Pentagon deputy chief of staff.
It is not clear what their motives were, but one official said Caldwell leaking information to “far-left reporters to hurt the secretary.”
It is also not yet clear what the unauthorized disclosures were, but the Pentagon has been beset by a string of leaks in recent weeks, prompting Pentagon Chief of Staff Joe Kasper to order an investigation.
Kasper’s order came after the New York Times reported that Elon Musk was planning to visit the Pentagon to be briefed on “war plans” in the Tank — a secure conference room at the Pentagon where top defense and military leaders gather to discuss the department’s most pressing issues.
While Musk did visit the Pentagon, the meeting took place in Hegseth’s office — not the Tank — and China was not discussed.
However, even before that, there were leaks of classified information that was only known at the highest levels at the Pentagon.
Caldwell was one of Hegseth’s most trusted advisers. In a Signal group chat National Security Adviser Mike Waltz had set up to discuss strikes against the Houthis, Hegseth had given Caldwell’s name as his point of contact for coordination.
Caldwell worked with Hegseth at Concerned Veterans for America, first as policy director and then as executive director.
Selnick also worked as a senior adviser at Concerned Veterans for America, though after Hegseth left the organization.
Caldwell was most recently at Defense Priorities, an organization known for advocating foreign policy restraint.
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has ramped up rhetoric against Iran over its nuclear program, with the Pentagon sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, as well as placing at least six B-2 stealth bombers at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.
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