Dismissed Pentagon advisor claims he posed a threat to 'established interests'
Dan Caldwell, dismissed during a leak investigation, stated that his unconventional foreign policy perspectives made him adversaries within the Pentagon.
TroibNews 
A Pentagon adviser who was abruptly dismissed alongside several other Defense Department officials during a leak investigation is challenging the official explanation for his firing, claiming it was prompted by his foreign policy beliefs—particularly his opposition to a potential attack on Iran.
In a podcast interview on Monday, Dan Caldwell asserted that he was not involved in any leaks that served as a basis for the purge, which has created significant disruption at the Pentagon and led to calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign.
Caldwell maintained that he had never leaked confidential information and noted that he and two other dismissed officials, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick, were not informed of the reasons for their termination.
“I was out there advancing things that a lot of people in the foreign policy establishment didn’t want,” Caldwell stated during an interview with far-right host Tucker Carlson. “It doesn’t justify what’s happening to me but let’s just be honest that is the nature of the games played in D.C.”
While Caldwell believes his viewpoints played a role in his dismissal, he suggested that Carroll and Selnick faced different motivations for their firings.
“We were threatening a lot of established interests in our own separate ways,” he explained. “And we had people who had personal vendettas against us. And I think they weaponized the investigation against us.”
Caldwell's remarks offer new context for the firings that have unsettled the Pentagon and present a significant challenge to Hegseth’s leadership of the Defense Department.
A former Marine officer who previously worked with Hegseth at the Concerned Veterans of America, Caldwell described himself as a critic of the ongoing military engagements that have defined U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, reiterating concerns about a renewed conflict with Iran supported by various American and Israeli officials.
“I think there clearly is a very strong coalition within the United States that wants to see another war in the Middle East,” Caldwell said. “And it crosses both parties.”
Though he expressed support for Hegseth, who faced a narrow Senate confirmation due to allegations related to sexual conduct and alcohol use as well as concerns about his experience leading a large organization, Caldwell emphasized that he had not undergone a polygraph test or surrendered personal phones as part of any investigation.
“There's a lot of evidence that there is not a real investigation,” Caldwell remarked. “But again, sitting here right now, there are a lot of unknowns about this.”
Defense officials informed PMG last week that the investigation focused on various leaks, including those regarding carrier deployments to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon, and the pause of U.S. intelligence support to Ukraine. Caldwell countered that the underlying issue was his controversial viewpoints that made him a target.
Caldwell recounted that he believed his removal from the Pentagon on April 15 was related to a request to testify against Hegseth in a separate inspector general inquiry related to the use of Signal, a messaging app, by senior officials discussing a potential airstrike in Yemen.
Hegseth’s troubles appeared to escalate after a report from The New York Times revealed that he had shared sensitive information in a Signal group chat involving his wife and brother.
“This is what the media does,” Hegseth said at the White House on Sunday. “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.”
Caldwell, in turn, accused career staff and former officials of engineering the leaks—potentially fueled by dissatisfaction over the appointment of Gen. Dan Caine as chair of the joint chiefs of staff.
Despite the upheaval, the former senior adviser to Hegseth is keen to secure another position within the Trump administration and expressed hope that the turmoil engulfing the Pentagon will come to a close.
“But at the end of the day, putting all this aside, Pete Hegseth needs to be a successful Secretary of Defense,” Caldwell stated. “And the entire Department of Defense cannot continue to be consumed by chaos.”
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
In a podcast interview on Monday, Dan Caldwell asserted that he was not involved in any leaks that served as a basis for the purge, which has created significant disruption at the Pentagon and led to calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign.
Caldwell maintained that he had never leaked confidential information and noted that he and two other dismissed officials, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick, were not informed of the reasons for their termination.
“I was out there advancing things that a lot of people in the foreign policy establishment didn’t want,” Caldwell stated during an interview with far-right host Tucker Carlson. “It doesn’t justify what’s happening to me but let’s just be honest that is the nature of the games played in D.C.”
While Caldwell believes his viewpoints played a role in his dismissal, he suggested that Carroll and Selnick faced different motivations for their firings.
“We were threatening a lot of established interests in our own separate ways,” he explained. “And we had people who had personal vendettas against us. And I think they weaponized the investigation against us.”
Caldwell's remarks offer new context for the firings that have unsettled the Pentagon and present a significant challenge to Hegseth’s leadership of the Defense Department.
A former Marine officer who previously worked with Hegseth at the Concerned Veterans of America, Caldwell described himself as a critic of the ongoing military engagements that have defined U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, reiterating concerns about a renewed conflict with Iran supported by various American and Israeli officials.
“I think there clearly is a very strong coalition within the United States that wants to see another war in the Middle East,” Caldwell said. “And it crosses both parties.”
Though he expressed support for Hegseth, who faced a narrow Senate confirmation due to allegations related to sexual conduct and alcohol use as well as concerns about his experience leading a large organization, Caldwell emphasized that he had not undergone a polygraph test or surrendered personal phones as part of any investigation.
“There's a lot of evidence that there is not a real investigation,” Caldwell remarked. “But again, sitting here right now, there are a lot of unknowns about this.”
Defense officials informed PMG last week that the investigation focused on various leaks, including those regarding carrier deployments to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon, and the pause of U.S. intelligence support to Ukraine. Caldwell countered that the underlying issue was his controversial viewpoints that made him a target.
Caldwell recounted that he believed his removal from the Pentagon on April 15 was related to a request to testify against Hegseth in a separate inspector general inquiry related to the use of Signal, a messaging app, by senior officials discussing a potential airstrike in Yemen.
Hegseth’s troubles appeared to escalate after a report from The New York Times revealed that he had shared sensitive information in a Signal group chat involving his wife and brother.
“This is what the media does,” Hegseth said at the White House on Sunday. “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.”
Caldwell, in turn, accused career staff and former officials of engineering the leaks—potentially fueled by dissatisfaction over the appointment of Gen. Dan Caine as chair of the joint chiefs of staff.
Despite the upheaval, the former senior adviser to Hegseth is keen to secure another position within the Trump administration and expressed hope that the turmoil engulfing the Pentagon will come to a close.
“But at the end of the day, putting all this aside, Pete Hegseth needs to be a successful Secretary of Defense,” Caldwell stated. “And the entire Department of Defense cannot continue to be consumed by chaos.”
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
