Three top aides were purged from the Pentagon last week, and even they don’t know why.
Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick joined forces on Saturday to blast their “unconscionable” suspensions from the Pentagon and cast doubt on the investigation into internal leaks that reportedly led to their ouster.
“We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended,” they wrote in a statement on X. “Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.”
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The three staffers were booted in a stunning shakeup that rocked the Pentagon last week after the agency launched a probe into recent leaks, including details of military plans for the Panama Canal, the movement of a U.S. carrier in the Red Sea, the decision to pause intelligence gathering related to Ukraine, and Elon Musk’s visit to discuss China.
“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,” the former aides said.
Caldwell, a former Marine who served in Iraq, was one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisers and supported scaling back American involvement in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Selnick, now a former Pentagon deputy chief of staff, also served in the first Trump administration under the White House and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was formerly a senior adviser to Concerned Veterans for America.
Carroll, former chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, is a Marine Corps Reserve officer and most recently worked at defense contractor Anduril. Politico previously reported that Carroll was kicked out by the Biden administration from the Pentagon’s former Joint Artificial Intelligence Center for allegedly creating a hostile work environment.
All three men were placed on administrative leave and escorted out of the Pentagon building last week.
Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Joe Kasper, also reportedly left his role for a new position, albeit still within the Pentagon.
Insiders told Politico that a rivalry was brewing between Kasper and the three fired advisers.
“Joe didn’t like those guys,” a defense official reportedly said. “They all have different styles. They just didn’t get along. It was a personality clash.”
The major staff changes have intensified scrutiny of Hegseth’s leadership, which came under fire last month when The Atlantic revealed that its editor-in-chief was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat of high-ranking national security officials discussing a military strike in Yemen.
Chris Meagher, a former Assistant Defense Secretary for Public Affairs under the Biden administration, told Politico that the controversies surrounding Hegseth have “only confirmed he doesn’t have what it takes to lead.”
“Everyone knew that Pete Hegseth did not possess the leadership qualities, background, or experience to be Secretary of Defense,” he said.
