Pete Hegseth, a prominent figure in the Trump administration and a commander in the Navy Reserve, is embroiled in a leak investigation that has persisted for nearly a month without yielding new evidence or prompting a referral to the FBI. The investigation has reportedly caused much internal chaos in his office as he gets ready for a highly critical Senate hearing slated for next month.
The inquiry into the leak began after a journalist obtained an apparently classified document. This classified document proposed military options for reclaiming the Panama Canal. Sources indicate that the investigation initially targeted Dan Caldwell, Hegseth’s senior adviser, who was subsequently escorted out of the Pentagon and terminated alongside two other aides: Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s former deputy chief of staff, and Colin Carroll, the deputy defense secretary’s chief of staff.
As the investigation continues, Hegseth’s advisers are raising alarms. They fear that questionable information is still being funneled in by his former personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore. They have rejected as false at least one other public claim about Hegseth’s office. Parlatore continues to be a key advisor to Hegseth. He does, however, retain the authority to make recommendations in the course of the ongoing investigation.
Ricky Buria has emerged as the de facto chief of staff. This deepens the insult to injury, since he is Hegseth’s former junior military aide. Buria’s appointment is not yet permanent. The critics lament that decision because of concerns over his lack of experience and over the role he played in internal office dramas. There are reports that the White House has intervened to block Hegseth from cementing Buria’s perch.
Parlatore had already raised many eyebrows among advisers to Trump by positing that Caldwell was subjected to a warrantless wiretap on his cellphone in late April. This revelation further complicated an already murky situation. People across the world reacted with disbelief to this assertion. They raised serious questions about Parlatore’s conflict of expectations investigating what look to be Hegseth’s enemies within his office.
“President Trump is confident in the secretary’s ability to ensure top leadership at the Department of Defense shares their focus on restoring a military that is focused on readiness, lethality, and excellence.” – White House spokesperson
The ongoing leak probe has since been handed over to the office of Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg’s office. Feeling overwhelmed, Parlatore chose to remove himself from the situation. He just wanted to work on trial prep for his other client—Admiral Robert Burke’s trial.
Hegseth’s office has an important role shaping defense policy. She’s doing that while running a department with an annual budget approaching $1 trillion and more than two million active duty, guard and reserve service members. To run things so that’s not the case, he’s brought in six senior advisers. As a commander in the Navy Reserve, Hegseth is bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This means he can’t be simply fired from his job.
The inquiry is in progress with no known end date. Equally uncertain are the repercussions that Hegseth and his team should in turn face as a result. As he gears up for his Senate hearing next month, the fallout from this prolonged investigation looms large over his future.