Three Hegseth aides ousted in leak investigation decry 'baseless attacks'

WASHINGTON – Three erstwhile elder advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decried connected Saturday what they called “baseless attacks” aft each was escorted from the Pentagon successful an expanding probe connected accusation leaks.

Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, main of unit to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s lawman main of unit were among four officials successful Hegseth’s interior ellipse who were ousted this past week.

While the 3 initially had been placed connected permission pending the investigation, a joint connection shared by Caldwell connected X said the 3 were “incredibly disappointed by the mode successful which our work astatine the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials person slandered our quality with baseless attacks connected our mode retired the door.”

“At this time, we inactive person not been told what precisely we were investigated for, if determination is inactive an progressive investigation, oregon if determination was adjacent a existent probe of ‘leaks’ to statesman with,” the station said.

Former Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot besides announced helium was resigning this week. The Pentagon said, however, that Ullyot was asked to resign.

The upheaval comes little than 100 days into the Trump medication wherever the Pentagon has recovered itself often successful the epicenter of arguable moves — from firings of elder subject and civilian unit to wide edicts to purge contented that promoted diversity, equity oregon inclusion. That led to images oregon different online contented of heroes similar the Tuskegee Airmen and Jackie Robinson being temporarily removed from the military's websites, causing nationalist uproar.

Last month, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon’s quality and instrumentality enforcement arms were investigating what it says are leaks of nationalist information information pursuing reports that Elon Musk was acceptable to person a classified briefing connected imaginable warfare plans with China.

In the announcement by Hegseth's main of staff, Joe Kasper, the bureau warned that Defense Department unit could look polygraphs successful the probe.

The departures besides travel the firings of elder subject officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown; Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti; National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command manager Gen. Tim Haugh; and Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. subject typical to the NATO Military Committee.

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