Last April, the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, fired a senior aide at the Pentagon, making the accusations against him public.
According to Hegseth, the aide, Dan Caldwell, who was his senior adviser, had leaked classified information alongside two other officials. Now Caldwell is back in government service, only this time with greater influence on what the president hears in his daily briefings.
Dan Caldwell Vindicated. His advice is apparently still valuable.
An investigation conducted soon after Caldwell was sent on compulsory leave found no evidence of wrongdoing on his part. Neither did it find any wrongdoing by the Deputy Defense Secretary and Hegseth’s Deputy Chief of Staff, both of whom were accused alongside Caldwell.
Caldwell, who has served as a Marine in Iraq, was an integral part of the team that helped the Trump-Vance administration transition into power.
The main reason Hegseth could not withstand his time at the Pentagon, according to Caldwell in an interview he later gave to Tucker Carlson, formerly of Fox News, was his position on US foreign policy, particularly toward the Middle East.
The ODNI Hires Dan Caldwell. Underlines his Credibility.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has hired Dan Caldwell despite his unceremonious ejection from the Pentagon last year.
This hiring is a relief for Caldwell, who is highly respected among the veterans. It also gives him a stellar rating on his credibility. By the time the ODNI formally hires a person, it has already dug into the individual’s past and present and found them irreproachable in character, particularly in matters of national security.
The ODNI may have Trump’s nod in the decision to hire Caldwell.
With the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing war against Iran, probably Caldwell’s input is being missed. It is also possible that his insights might have helped Trump with decision-making before ordering a hit on Iran over two weeks ago.
On the flipside, what does the whole thing say about Hegseth’s capacity to work with resourceful personnel?