A third senior Pentagon official has been put on administrative leave as the investigation into who may be behind sensitive information leaks widens. Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, was suspended Wednesday, just one day after two high-ranking officials on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's staff were placed on leave.

RedState's Jennifer Van Laar reported Tuesday on the suspension of Dan Caldwell, senior advisor to Hegseth, for his possible involvement in leaks of information involving military operational plans. After Caldwell was reportedly escorted out of the Pentagon, it came to light that he was Hegseth's designated point person in the now-infamous Signal chat between national security officials. Per Jen:

Caldwell was also a participant in the Signal chat between Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth, and other administration officials in which a pending strike on the Houthis in Yemen was discussed that was leaked to The Atlantic last month. Hegseth described Caldwell as his best staff point of contact for the National Security Council as the strike was planned and carried out. 

Right on the heels of Caldwell being expelled from the Pentagon, another Hegseth staffer, Darin Selnick, the Defense Department's deputy chief of staff, found himself also being escorted out of the building. RedState's streiff had the scoop on Selnick:

Selnick is a retired Air Force officer and, like Caldwell, was part of a group Hegseth brought with him from Concerned Veterans for America. During Trump 1.0, Selnick served as Veterans Affairs Advisor on the Domestic Policy Council at the White House and as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Before becoming deputy chief of staff, he'd been acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

And now Colin Carroll is added to the growing list of defense officials suspected of leaking information about such things as military plans for the Panama Canal, Elon Musk's Pentagon briefing on China, the movements of aircraft carrier groups in the Red Sea and a plethora of intelligence related to Ukraine.

MORE: Hegseth Advisor Who Was Included in Leaked Signal Text Chain Escorted From Pentagon, Placed on Leave

Second Hegseth Aide Escorted From the Pentagon As Leak Probe Widens

Pentagon officials didn't offer up any details on Carroll's possible involvement, but did confirm his being placed on leave, stating: "We can confirm that Mr. Carroll has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation. We have nothing additional to provide at this time." Some information about Carroll's background has surfaced, including the fact that he had previously been fired from a Pentagon job: 

Carroll, a Marine Corps Reserve officer, recently worked at Anduril, a defense contractor that specializes in autonomous systems. POLITICO has reported that he was fired by the Biden administration for creating a hostile environment while chief operating officer of the Pentagon’s former Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

Joe Kasper, Hegseth's chief of staff, initiated the investigation into the aforementioned leaks last month, demanding in a memo to Pentagon officials that an "immediate and thorough investigation" be undertaken into "unauthorized disclosures" made by stakeholders, "including those responsible for maintaining and overseeing information security systems and in coordination with federal partners as required." 

Notably, Kasper approved the use of polygraphs as part of the investigation when in accordance with law and federal policy. He also indicated that criminal prosecutions would be pursued if sufficient evidence surfaced. 

A final report is expected to be given to Secretary Hegseth at some point in the near future. 

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