A third high-level Pentagon staffer has been placed on administrative leave in two days as part of a probe into media leaks.
Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg, was escorted out of the building on Wednesday, following Dan Caldwell, senior advisor to Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Darin Selnick, deputy chief of staff to Hegseth.
“We can confirm that Mr. Carroll has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation. We have nothing additional to provide at this time,” a defense official told Fox News Digital.
On Tuesday, Dan Caldwell was placed on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure” of information amid an investigation into Pentagon leaks an official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Reuters’ initial reporting is accurate but declined to comment on an ongoing investigation.
The Pentagon has not provided specifics about what the three officials are accused of leaking.
Last month Defense Department (DOD) announced it would launch a probe into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information” and might employ the use of polygraphs to determine the source of the leaks.
Last month, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard announced increased security measures following a number of leaks within the intelligence community. “Our nation’s Intelligence Community must be focused on our national security mission. Politically motivated leaks undermine our national security and the trust of the American people, and will not be tolerated,” she declared on Friday in a thread on X.
“Unfortunately, such leaks have become commonplace with no investigation or accountability. That ends now. We know of and are aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable,” Gabbard added. She then listed several “recent examples” of intelligence community leaks:
- “A leaker who has been sharing classified information with the Huffington Post”
- “A leaker within the IC sharing information on Israel / Iran with The Washington Post”
- “A leaker within the IC sharing information about the U.S. – Russia relationship with NBC”
- “A leaker sharing information on NCSC activities and actions with The Record”
Gabbard concluded the thread by warning that unauthorized disclosure of classified material is a breach of the law and will be handled accordingly. Gabbard, a former Democrat Congresswoman from Hawaii who turned Republican, was sworn in last month after a 52-48 vote. During her confirmation hearing, she promised to end the politicization of intelligence and restore trust in the national security apparatus tasked with protecting American citizens.