Leaker or Non-Conformist? – Why Did Pentagon Fire Dan Caldwell?

Within the Department of Defense (DOD) under the new Trump administration, there is battle increasingly becoming visible to the public despite the veil of secrecy held up by the authorities. The latest in this chain of events to attract the attention of critics is the sacking of Pentagon staffer Dan Caldwell. Why was he fired?

Dan Caldwell’s termination from the Pentagon around April 15 made headlines and was initially reported to be linked to an investigation into “unauthorized disclosure of department information” (Associated Press, April 16). A veteran of the Marine Corps, Caldwell was an important staffer who was known as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s point person in the controversial Signal chat incident last month, wherein sensitive information about military strikes in Yemen was accidentally shared with The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.

Caldwell’s removal from his Pentagon office was believed to be the result of the department’s internal investigation into the alleged leaks, whose nature has not been disclosed to the public. The Pentagon officials who revealed Caldwell’s firing in connection to the leaks spoke to the media on the condition of anonymity. But Caldwell chose not to stay silent and went on record on Tucker Carlson’s show to share what really cost him his position at the Pentagon.

The description of Carlson’s interview with Caldwell on the YouTube video reads: “Dan Caldwell was one of the strongest voices at the Pentagon opposing war with Iran. Then he was falsely accused of leaking classified documents and fired.” This was confirmed by Caldwell as the reason behind his firing during the course of the interview, in which the prospect of a war with Iran was explored in detail.

It was in the latter half of the interview that Caldwell told Carlson he did not leak any classified information and said that he was not even told what he was being investigated for, along with a few colleagues. He questioned whether there actually was a real investigation at all. Answering the question why he was fired, Caldwell said:

“I was out there advancing things that a lot of people in the foreign policy establishment didn’t want.” Without naming names, he added that people in the Pentagon held a personal vendetta against him and his fellow staffer, accused of the alleged leaks and this investigation was weaponized against them.   

The media since then have also questioned whether there is an active conflict inside the Pentagon between pro- and anti-Iran war factions, both trying to influence Secretary Hegseth toward their respective military policy views. On Monday (April 21), the New York Post featured the comments of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claiming that the entire Pentagon is working against Hegseth. Leavitt told Fox News:

“The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon. This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.”

The hearsay that the White House is considering the replacement of Hegseth was also dismissed as fake news by Leavitt on her official X account.

Earlier this week, conservative commentator and podcaster Clayton Morris highlighted reports from Israeli media revealing that Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to attack Iran even though Trump is not backing his plan and the Trump administration’s move to hold talks with Iran directly has left Netanyahu nervous about a possible peace deal by the White House.