The Pentagon is seen in October 2021. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been placed on administrative leave for an “unauthorized disclosure” as part of an ongoing investigation into leaks at the Pentagon, a defense official confirmed Tuesday.
However, the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, would not comment further because of the open investigation.
Caldwell was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday after being implicated during the investigation, according to a Reuters report.
Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff, signed a memo March 21 requesting an investigation into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications.” Kasper added the use of polygraphs in executing the investigation would be “in accordance with applicable law and policy.”
Last month, the top editor of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed he was mistakenly included in a conversation on the Signal messaging app in which national security officials for President Donald Trump discussed plans for airstrikes against Houthis targets in Yemen.
During the Signal chat, Hegseth named Caldwell as the best point of contact from his staff for the National Security Council as the U.S. prepared for the launch of the Houthi strikes.
Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran, deployed to Iraq with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank.
The decision to place Caldwell on administrative leave is separate from the wave of military firings since Hegseth took over at the Pentagon in January.
Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee, and Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, who led the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, were recently removed from their posts. Other top military officers who have been fired include Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the former chief of naval operations, and the top military lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
