Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, found himself escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday after being swept up in an ongoing leak investigation, according to a defense official who spoke anonymously.
The sudden move stems from what’s being described as an “unauthorized disclosure” tied to an internal breach now informally dubbed “SignalGate.” Caldwell, a retired Marine and prominent figure in national defense circles, was reportedly the main contact inside the Department of Defense connected to a leak shared through encrypted chat platforms.
Though the details remain murky, the situation escalated quickly. By Tuesday night, Caldwell’s social media presence took a hit—his X (formerly Twitter) account was taken offline, adding fuel to the speculation fire.
While the Pentagon has yet to issue a public statement, insiders suggest the investigation is still in full swing. Caldwell has been placed on administrative leave pending further review, with no official timeline for resolution.
The development hasn’t been widely publicized, but the implications are already reverberating through defense circles, raising fresh concerns over information security at the highest levels of the U.S. military.
