Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Pentagon staffers “will be prosecuted” if they are found leaking sensitive information within the department.
This push for investigations comes after top Pentagon officials were removed for allegedly leaking information to reporters. One of the officials who was removed, John Ullyot, also penned an op-ed on Sunday depicting behind-the-scenes turmoil within the department. In response, Hegseth said that Ullyot “misrepresented” his leadership and the department in his piece.
‘The leakers know who they are, the truth will be told, and we stand behind that.’
“We’re going to investigate and take it anywhere it leads,” Hegseth said Tuesday.
“It led to unfortunate places for people I have known for a long time,” Hegseth added. “It is not my job to protect them; I protect national security.”
Hegseth also argued that the leakers are working to curb President Donald Trump’s policies and leadership, prompting the investigation and subsequent prosecution of leakers at the Pentagon.
“When evidence is gathered — and this happened quickly — it will be handed over to the DOJ, and the people will be prosecuted,” Hegseth said. “The leakers know who they are, the truth will be told, and we stand behind that.”
Three other officials who were removed for alleged leaks — Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick — issued a joint statement on Saturday expressing disappointment in the Department of Defense but also maintained their support for Trump and his administration.
“We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door,” the statement reads. “All three of us served our country honorably in uniform — for two of us, this included deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it.”
“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 statement continued. “While this experience has been unconscionable, we remain supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength. We hope in the future to support those efforts in different capacities.”
‘I’m here to do one job for the president and the American people: secure the country, America first, peace through strength. I don’t have time for leakers or hoax media.’
Notably, Caldwell was the senior adviser designated as Hegseth’s point of contact in the now-infamous Signal chat leak. Hegseth has maintained that the Signal chat did not include classified or sensitive information.
“It was the result of an ongoing investigation,” Hegseth said of Caldwell, Carroll, and Selnick’s removal. “We identified sufficient evidence; the evidence will have to keep going. They, or others near them, were party to leaking. I have a statutory responsibility, if I believe that is the case, to ensure they no longer have access, and the investigation commences.”
“If we think you are leaking to the press, that’s a real problem we take seriously at the Pentagon,” Hegseth added. “I’m here to do one job for the president and the American people: secure the country, America first, peace through strength. I don’t have time for leakers or hoax media.”
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