On April 16th, Colin Carroll, the chief of staff to Stephen Feinberg, the Deputy Secretary of Defense in the United States, was placed on administrative leave pending a leak investigation. He was escorted out of the Pentagon on the same day. This marks the third senior Pentagon official within two days to be placed on administrative leave due to leaked information to the media.
Prior to Carroll, Dan Caldwell, a senior advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Darin Selnick, the Deputy Chief of Staff, were also ordered to take administrative leave. According to Defense Department officials, Carroll is currently under investigation, with no further details disclosed at this time.
The Pentagon has not revealed the specific details of the leaks by these three senior officials. According to Politico, the leaked information involved the Panama Canal project, Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon, and the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Red Sea, among other things.
In March, the Defense Department announced an investigation into multiple unauthorized disclosures of national security information, potentially using polygraph tests to identify the sources of the leaks. Joe Kasper, Chief of Staff at the Defense Department, stated in a memorandum that the investigation will commence immediately, and the investigation report will be submitted to the Defense Secretary. Those responsible for the leaks will face criminal prosecution.
Carroll is a reservist in the Marine Corps and has recently been working at Anduril, a defense contractor developing autonomous weapon systems. Caldwell and Selnick have previously worked at the advocacy group “Concerned Veterans for America” under Hegseth’s leadership.
This developing situation highlights the seriousness with which the Defense Department is treating leaks of classified information, especially regarding national security matters. As investigations continue, the consequences for those found responsible could be significant. The ongoing internal scrutiny underscores the importance of safeguarding sensitive information within the Pentagon and upholding security protocols to prevent unauthorized disclosures.