Editor's note: This headline has been updated.
A top advisor to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly was escorted out of the Pentagon after being identified in a leak investigation into an “unauthorized disclosure.”
Reuters, which exclusively reported the development, named the advisor as Dan Caldwell and stated that he has been placed on administrative leave.
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin added that Caldwell is being “investigated for ‘unauthorized disclosure’ of classified information.”
Reuters noted that a “March 21 memo signed by Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, requested an investigation into ‘recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications.'”
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“Kasper’s memo left open the possibility of a polygraph, although it was unclear if Caldwell was subjected to one.”
Meanwhile, Military.com’s Pentagon reporter Konstantin Toropin provides more context.
“Caldwell was a low key but vital official,” he wrote, noting that Secretary Hegseth “said he was the best point of contact for the National Security Council in the Signalgate chat regarding the strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.”
Experts are weighing in.
“Maybe overdue accountability is finally starting after SignalGate. Dan Caldwell is well-known in Washington as the former head of Hegseth’s former partisan political group, Concerned Veterans of America,” wrote Paul Rieckhoff, a veteran and veterans’ activist. “He also has loved to troll me on this platform over the years. A lapse of discipline or judgement would not be surprising. They are not just radical. They are sloppy and incompetent. That puts our national security at risk. And has our enemies celebrating.”
“This is a big deal,” adds Eric Bianco, Reuters National security correspondent focusing on intelligence. “Caldwell was integral to the Pentagon/admin’s Ukraine policy, especially when it came to discussions around continued military support for Kyiv.”
This is a developing story.