The Pentagon has placed two Defense Department officials on administrative leave pending an investigation into an unauthorized disclosure, officials told CBS News. Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday, according to an official.
Darin Selnick, the Pentagon’s deputy chief of staff, was suspended as part of the same probe, according to two Defense Department officials.
At the end of March, Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, issued a memo directing the Pentagon to investigate unauthorized disclosures and, if necessary, use lie detector tests.
Reuters was the first to report that Caldwell had been placed on administrative leave while being investigated. Politico was the first to report Selnick’s leave.
According to a source, Caldwell has been accused of sharing classified documents with reporters.
Caldwell previously worked for Defense Priorities, a foreign policy think tank, and Concerned Veterans for America, which Hegseth previously led. Caldwell served in the Marine Corps and is an Iraq War veteran.
He was mentioned in an Atlantic article that included text messages about strikes against the Houthis. According to The Atlantic, Hegseth designated him in the chat to represent the Defense Department.
The memo from Kasper was issued on the same day that the Pentagon and the White House flatly denied reports that Elon Musk was visiting the Pentagon to receive a briefing on war plans in the event of a conflict with China.
Although the Trump administration claims Musk has no official role at the Department of Government Efficiency, he is heavily involved with the agency and has attended several Cabinet meetings.