Fired Pentagon officials weren't told what they were probed for

Yi Wei Wong and Shamim Adam, Bloomberg News on Apr 20, 2025

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Three Pentagon officials who were reported to have been fired amid a inquiry into leaks said they weren’t told what they were being investigated for or if there was even a probe into the unauthorized disclosure of information.

The three are senior adviser Dan Caldwell; Darin Selnick, who was the defense secretary’s deputy chief of staff; and Colin Carroll, who served as chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary. Politico reported they were terminated on Friday.

“We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended,” the officials said in a joint statement on X. “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.”

In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, called for an investigation into “unauthorized disclosures” of national security information with those found responsible to “be referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement entity for criminal prosecution.”

The probe came after the New York Times reported that Elon Musk was to get a top secret briefing about the U.S. military’s planning for any potential war with China. The Times cited multiple unidentified U.S. officials familiar with the matter, while President Donald Trump and Hegseth denied any plans for Musk to get such a high-level briefing.

Caldwell, Selnick and Carroll said they understood the importance of information security and “worked every day to protect it.”

“Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door,” they said, calling the experience “unconscionable.”

Still, the three said they remain supportive of the administration’s efforts to reform the Pentagon.

Politico also reported that Kasper will leave his position for a new role at the department. Kasper declined to comment to Politico, while the Pentagon didn’t respond to the outlet.