On Tuesday (April 22), U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that a former senior advisor who was fired last week during an investigation into leaks to the media at the Pentagon may face prosecution. Once the investigation is completed, evidence will be handed over to the Department of Justice.
Dan Caldwell was one of Hegseth’s senior advisors. Last month, the leak case involving Caldwell came to light with the Department of Defense disclosing it to The Atlantic. While preparing for attacks on the Houthi group in Yemen, Hegseth had him serve as the primary point of contact for the National Security Council.
On Friday, he and two other senior officials were dismissed, but they deny any wrongdoing and claim to have no knowledge of the alleged crimes.
Hegseth told Fox News, “If these individuals can be exonerated, that would be great! However, based on what we have uncovered in the investigation, we do not believe these individuals are going to have a good time of it.”
He also mentioned that there have been several leaks triggering investigations.
Expressing lament, he said, “We said, ‘Enough is enough’ with the leaks, and we are taking the leak investigations seriously. Some people, unfortunately, I have known for a long time, but my job is not to protect them, my job is to protect national security.” He added, “All this happened quickly, the evidence will be handed over to the Department of Justice, and if necessary, these individuals will be prosecuted.”
John Ullyot, who previously served as Hegseth’s acting assistant secretary of public affairs, was relieved of his position as Pentagon spokesperson last week. He stated on Sunday that Hegseth’s Department of Defense is in a “total disarray.” In a commentary piece for Politico, he wrote, “Dysfunction has become a major distraction for the President.”
In response, Hegseth said that Ullyot has been “distorting a lot of things in the media, which is unfortunate.”
(Reference from Reuters)