Pete Hegseth has warned that former senior Pentagon advisors fired last week could face prosecution for leaking classified information, saying evidence will be turned over to the Justice Department once an investigation wraps up. Dan Caldwell, a key Hegseth aide, and two others were abruptly fired and escorted out of the Pentagon on Friday. All deny wrongdoing and say they’ve received no details about alleged crimes.
Joint statement from Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick:
— Dan Caldwell 🇺🇸 (@dandcaldwell) April 19, 2025
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…
Hegseth, already under fire for discussing Yemen strike plans on the encrypted app Signal, didn’t rule out exoneration but said the findings likely won’t be favorable. The leaks reportedly included military options in the Panama Canal and Elon Musk’s Pentagon visit. “It’s not my job to protect them,” Hegseth told Fox News, “It’s my job to protect national security.” Caldwell’s influence was highlighted in a leaked Signal chat where Hegseth called him the top liaison for NSC coordination during planned Houthi strikes.
