Top US Defense Secretary put on leave in Pentagon leak investigation

One of the leading advisors of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Dan Calledwell was rescued from the Pentagon on Tuesday, after being identified during the leak investigation in the defense department, an American official told Reuters.

Caldwell was placed on administrative leave for “an unauthorized disclosure”, saying, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The decision has not been mentioned earlier.

“Investigation is on,” the officer said without providing details about the nature of the alleged disclosure, including whether it was made for a journalist or someone else.

President Donald Trump’s administration has aggressively followed the leak, an attempt that has been enthusiastically embraced by Hegseth in Pentagon.

The 21 March memorandum signed by Kasper’s Chief of Staff, Hegseth requested an inquiry into “recent unauthorized revelations of national security information related to sensitive communication”.

Casper’s memorandum opened the possibility of a polygraph, although it was not clear whether Caldwell was subject to one.

Although Caldwell is known as other senior Pentagon officers, he has played an important role as Hegseth’s advisor.

His importance was underlined in a leaked text chain on the signal mentioned by the Atlantic last month.

In this, Hegseth nominated Caldwell as the best staff point of contact for the National Security Council as it was ready to launch attacks against Hauthis in Yemen.

Caldwell attracted attention in Washington for previous views that critics have called separatists, but the advocates said that the US defense priorities have been sought to give the right shape.

The veteran of a Marine Corps who was posted in Iraq, Caldwell was told before going to Pentagon that America would have been better for American soldiers to stay at home.

“I think the Iraq War was a demonic crime,” Caldwell told Financial Times in December 2024.

He was also suspected of US military aid for Ukraine and advocated American retrenchment from Europe.

The decision to put Caldwell on administrative leave is different from a wave of firing since former Fox News host and Combat veteran Hegseth, capturing the Pentagon in January.

Those firing of top brass include president of Joint Chief of Staff, top Admiral in the Navy, head of American cyber command and top American military lawyers. Reuters were first reported to the NATO military committee last week to report the firing of the US military representative.

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