A Pentagon investigation into leaked classified information has widened to include two additional aides to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his deputy, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Hegseth, was escorted out of the building and placed on administrative leave after what one official described as an "unauthorized disclosure." Now, two more aides — Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll — are also on leave as the internal probe continues.
Selnick, recently appointed deputy chief of staff to Hegseth, and Carroll, who served as chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, were both placed on leave this week. Officials said more names could be added as the investigation develops.
The probe stems from a March 21 memo by Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, which requested a review into "unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications." The memo also left open the possibility of polygraph testing.
The case has drawn attention given Caldwell’s role. He was previously identified in a leaked Signal message exchange as Hegseth’s key liaison with the National Security Council ahead of U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
Caldwell has been a controversial figure in Washington. A veteran of the Iraq War, he had publicly questioned U.S. military commitments overseas. In a December 2024 interview with the Financial Times, Caldwell called the Iraq War "a monstrous crime" and argued the U.S. would have been better off avoiding prolonged deployments abroad.
He also voiced skepticism over U.S. military support for Ukraine and pushed for a leaner American footprint in Europe.
While the three aides were placed on leave due to the leak investigation, the move comes during a broader shake-up at the Pentagon since Hegseth assumed the role in January. High-profile firings have included the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy’s top admiral, the head of U.S. Cyber Command and several top military lawyers.
The White House and Pentagon have declined to comment on whether any criminal charges are expected as part of the investigation.
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Australia and Canada said on Thursday they had signed new agreements on critical minerals as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a landmark address to the Australian parliament, a sign of the developing bond between the "middle powers".
Tensions across the Middle East continue to escalate following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks in the Gulf region, with military operations and regional security developments continuing to unfold.
More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's mines ministry said on Wednesday.
Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its sixth day and just hours after moves to halt the U.S. air assault were blocked in Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
At least 42 people have been killed and 104 wounded in fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Tuesday. The latest death toll figures come as fighting between the two neighbours enters its sixth day.
Australia and Canada said on Thursday they had signed new agreements on critical minerals as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a landmark address to the Australian parliament, a sign of the developing bond between the "middle powers".
More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's mines ministry said on Wednesday.
A power outage struck most of Cuba, including Havana, the state electric utility said on Wednesday (5 March), as the Communist-run government grapples with increased pressure from the Trump administration that has curtailed oil shipments.
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Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
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