Dan Caldwell, former top adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said he has not been told why he was being investigated and if there is still an inquiry ongoing amid an internal probe into leaks at the Department of Defense (DOD).
Newsweek reached out to the DOD via email Monday for comment.
Why It Matters
The department has faced increased scrutiny after Hegseth and other top Trump Cabinet officials engaged in a Signal group chat, which included a journalist, while discussing imminent war plans.
Signal is an encrypted messaging app. The handling of the sensitive military discussions among Trump’s brass also triggered widespread U.S. security concerns.
Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz have repeatedly rebuked the initial report from Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
Amid reports of firings within the department over the weekend, an additional report by The New York Times accuses Hegseth of sharing additional attack plans in a second Signal chat with members of his family and personal attorney.
Hegseth called out the new report of the second group chat, saying in part, “this is what the media does.” President Donald Trump has repeatedly come to the defense of Hegseth in the immediate aftermath of both incidents.
What To Know
Reports of the firing circulated Friday night and were later confirmed by Caldwell in a joint statement with former Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, former chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary.
The firings came after the officials were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the internal leaks at the DOD.
“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. All three of us served our country honorably in uniform—for two of us, this included deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it,” the joint statement read.
Caldwell spoke with Tucker Carlson in a video that aired to social media on Monday evening. Carlson asked the ousted DOD official if he even knew the nature of the accusation against him.
“No,” Caldwell responded. “Sitting here right now, myself and Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the other two individuals that were escorted out of the Pentagon, initially placed on leave, and then fired on Friday, we have not been told as of this recording: one, … what we were being investigated for; two, is there still an investigation; and three, was there even a real investigation. Because there’s a lot of evidence that … there is not a real investigation.”
Tucker also asked Caldwell directly if he leaked classified information to the media, to which he emphatically denied.
Caldwell also said he was never polygraphed amid any investigation or during his time at the Pentagon. He also said that he never turned over his private devices, including his phone.
Amid their conversation, Caldwell also suggested that he thinks he was let go in part for his feelings on Iran—in opposing going to war with the Middle East country. Caldwell is a Marines veteran who served in Iraq.
“I was out there … advancing things that a lot of people in the foreign policy establishment didn’t want,” Caldwell said.
What People Are Saying
Caldwell on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday: “I am eternally grateful to @TuckerCarlson for bringing me on his show to talk about what happened to Colin Carroll, Darin Selnick, and I at the Pentagon.”
Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson, on X, formerly Twitter, last month: “For too long, instances of unauthorized disclosures of national security information have gone uninvestigated at the DoD. @SecDef is committed to aggressively pursuing parties responsible for any leaks and will refer them to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.”
Parnell added, “Efforts to subvert @POTUS command of our Armed Forces, to endanger the lives of our warfighters, or to harm our national security will not be tolerated. ACCOUNTABILITY IS BACK.”
What Happens Next
Politico reported on Friday that both Selnick and Carroll plan to sue for wrongful termination.
