Pentagon deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick is suspended amid probe into ‘unauthorized disclosure’ of classified information

Darin Selnick, the Pentagon’s deputy chief of staff, has been suspended as part of an investigation into leaks at the department in the wake of the Signal group chat scandal, a defense official confirmed to DailyMail.com. 

The suspension follows news that Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been placed on administrative leave Tuesday as part of the same probe, the official said.

Caldwell was escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday after allegedly being identified during the investigation. 

Selnick, who has long been a Hegseth ally and served in the White House under the first Trump administration, was also escorted from the Pentagon Tuesday, Politico reported. 

‘The investigation remains ongoing,’ the official said without providing details about the nature of the alleged disclosure, including whether it was made to a journalist or to someone else. 

The move comes after a March 21 memo ordering a Pentagon investigation into leaks ordered by Hegseth’s chief of staff Joe Kasper.

President Donald Trump has railed against leakers, particularly those leaking information about his administration. He has ordered them found.

Caldwell, who served in the Marine Corps, was one of several senior advisers who worked closely with Hegseth. 

He was the staff member designated as Hegseth’s point person in the Signal messaging chat that top Trump administration national security officials, including Hegseth, used to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen.

The chat, set up by national security adviser Michael Waltz, included a number of Cabinet members and came to light because Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was added to the group.

The officials did not disclose what leaks are being investigated, but there has been a crackdown across the Pentagon and the Trump administration on the disclosure of sensitive or classified information, starting even before news of the Signal chat emerged on March 24.

Caldwell´s ties to the secretary go back to Hegseth´s time as the head of Concerned Veterans for America, a nonprofit that fell into financial difficulty during his time there. Caldwell worked at CVA beginning in 2013 as policy director and later as executive director. 

He and Hegseth have a longtime friendship. Caldwell was by Hegseth’s side on Capitol Hill as the former Fox News host fought to keep his nomination alive during questions about his treatment of women.

Before joining Hegseth’s team, Caldwell worked for Defense Priorities and Concerned Veterans for America.

Defense Priorities, a conservative think tank funded by the Koch brothers, advocates for more restrained US foreign policy. 

Concerned Veterans for America has strong ties to Republican lawmakers on the veterans and armed services committees – and it has enjoyed a friendly relationship with President Donald Trump in the past.

It’s also funded by the Koch brothers and is where Hegseth and Caldwell met. 

Selnick has also served as acting under secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness earlier this year.

During the first Trump administration, he worked in both the White House and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He also served a senior advisor to the Hegseth-led organization Concerned Veterans for America.  

On March 21, Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, said in a memo that the Pentagon was investigating what it said were leaks of national security information. Defense Department personnel could face polygraphs.

The memo referred to ‘recent unauthorized disclosures’ but provided no details. Kasper warned that the investigation would begin immediately and result in a report to Hegseth.

‘I expect to be informed immediately if this effort results in information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure, and that such information will be referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement entity for criminal prosecution,’ Kasper said in the memo. 

Caldwell, who graduated from Arizona State University in 2011, also worked as a public policy adviser at Defense Priorities, a think tank based in Washington.

Kasper’s order left open the possibility of a polygraph, although it was unclear if Caldwell was subject to one. 

The Pentagon chief of staff said the probe would examine ‘recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information’ and said polygraphs would be used.

‘The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy,’ Kasper wrote in a memo. ‘This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense.’

He wrote that ‘information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure’ would be referred for criminal prosecution.’

Kasper ordered the probe one day after the New York Times reported the Pentagon set up a briefing with Elon Musk on a potential war with China. 

Although Caldwell is not as well known as other senior Pentagon officials, he has played a critical role as an adviser to Hegseth.

His importance was underscored in a leaked text chain on Signal disclosed by The Atlantic magazine last month.

In it, Hegseth named Caldwell as the best staff point of contact for the National Security Council as it prepared for the launch of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

That article came out on March 24th, three days after Kasper ordered the probe into leaks.