Hegseth advisers decry 'baseless attacks' after Pentagon ouster amid Yemen strikes leak probe

Hegseth advisers ousted amid Yemen leak probe, condemn “baseless attacks.

Three former senior advisers to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth condemned what they described as “baseless attacks” on Saturday, after they were escorted from the Pentagon in connection with an expanding investigation into information leaks.

Dan Caldwell, an aide to Hegseth; Colin Carroll, Chief of Staff to Deputy Defence Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s Deputy Chief of Staff, were among four officials in Hegseth’s inner circle who were dismissed this past week.

Although the three had initially been placed on leave pending the investigation, a joint statement shared by Caldwell on X expressed their “incredible disappointment” over the way their service at the Department of Defence came to an end. “Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door,” the statement read.

The post continued, “At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”

Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot also announced his resignation this week. However, the Pentagon clarified that Ullyot had been asked to resign.

This upheaval comes less than 100 days into the Trump administration, during which the Pentagon has frequently found itself at the centre of controversy — from the dismissal of senior military and civilian staff to sweeping directives to purge content promoting diversity, equity, or inclusion. This led to images and online content featuring heroes such as the Tuskegee Airmen and Jackie Robinson being temporarily removed from the military’s websites, sparking public outcry.

Last month, Hegseth revealed that the Pentagon’s intelligence and law enforcement arms were investigating what they described as leaks of national security information, following reports that Elon Musk was set to receive a classified briefing on potential war plans with China.

In a statement from Hegseth’s Chief of Staff, Joe Kasper, the office warned that Defence Department personnel could be subject to polygraph tests as part of the investigation.

The departures also follow the dismissal of senior military officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command Director Gen. Tim Haugh, and Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee.

(With AP Input)