One of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top officials was taken on operational left and escorted out of the Pentagon, according to a report from the Department of Defense on Tuesday that was attributed to an “unauthorized publication” of information.
A secret U.S. security official revealed to Reuters on Tuesday that Dan Caldwell, a Pentagon consultant who previously worked for Hegseth at the Defense Priorities and Concerned Veterans for America think pond, had been escorted out of the Pentagon and taken on administrative leave as part of the Pentagon’s investigation into domestic leaks at the Department of Defense. A later official confirmed to Fox News that the Reuters report was accurate, but the official declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
In a memo titled” Efforts to Combat Unauthorized Disclosures,” Chief of Staff of the Department of Defense Joe Kasper published a memo last month.
According to Kasper,” Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with Office of the Secretary of Defense ( OSD ) principals demand immediate and thorough investigation.”
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The Pentagon would be using polygraphs to help identify the source of the recent leaks, the Department of Defense’s chief of staff stated in the memo.
According to Kasper,” The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy.” ” This investigation will begin right away and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense,” the statement states.
Kasper continued,” I anticipate being immediately informed if this effort yields information that can help identify a party responsible for an unauthorised disclosure, and that such information will be referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement agency for criminal prosecution.”
In the most recent Signal chat leak regarding the U.S. strikes against the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen in March, Caldwell’s position as a top advisor for the secretary of defense was revealed, according to Fox News. Hegseth referred to Caldwell as the Pentagon’s point of contact for the military strikes in the leaked Signal chat.
