Signal chat leak: Two top Pentagon officials put on leave as part of probe, say reports

The Pentagon has reportedly placed two top officials on administrative leave on Tuesday as part of an investigation into leaks at the Defense Department.

A US official told news agency Reuters that one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leading advisers, Dan Caldwell, was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday after being identified during the probe.

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Caldwell was placed on administrative leave for "an unauthorized disclosure," the official told the agency, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The investigation remains ongoing," the official. Details about the nature of the alleged disclosure, including whether it was made to a journalist or to someone else, have not been revealed.

Meanwhile, Politico reported that Darin Selnick, the Pentagon's deputy chief of staff, was also placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Earlier, a probe was launched into Hegseth's use of the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive information about military operations in Yemen.

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Signal chat leak

Senior members of the Trump administration, including Hegseth, used Signal chat to discuss air strikes on Yemen. On Trump's orders, the US launched an attack on Yemen's Houthi rebels in a bid to curb their attacks on commercial shipping and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The chats came to light after they were accidentally leaked when Jeff Goldberg, who is the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was inadvertently included in the Signal in which officials including Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Hegseth discussed details of air strike timings and intelligence.

(With inputs from agencies)