Former Pentagon consultant could face charges in leak investigation: Hergus

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview Tuesday that his former aide was fired last week but could face charges at the end of the investigation.

“We’re going to do the investigation, and when we do the investigation, we’re going to take it anywhere we lead.” Hegseth said in an interview with Fox News’ Hegseth of Fox News’ Fox News’ Fox News’ Fox News’ Fox News’ Fox News’ Fox News’ “We’re going to do the investigation, and when we do the investigation, we’re going to take it anywhere we lead.”

The secretary added: “When the evidence is fully collected – all of this happens very quickly – it will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice and those people will be prosecuted if necessary.”

Heggs said he was not optimistic that the investigation would have a favorable outcome for the fired employees.

“We look for leakers because we take it very seriously and we will investigate. If these people are exempted? Great.”

He continued: “We think it will be a great day for many people, based on what we know, because of what was found in the survey.”

The Pentagon fired senior aides Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick on Friday, who were first taken to paid administrative leave and escorted out of the building. Their termination follows the news media investigation after the Department of Defense investigated the news media leak.

All three political appointees said in a joint statement Saturday that they were not informed of their purpose and were “very disappointed with the way we serve at the Department of Defense”.

“The unnamed Pentagon officials’ unfounded attacks when they go out have slandered our characters,” they wrote, adding, “three of us are honorably in uniforms for our country – for both of us, this includes deployment of wars against Iraq and Afghanistan. And, based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and protect it to protect it.”

Kilmeade asked the former assistant in the interview that they did not question the leak and did not search the phone, which would be the standard procedure in the investigation. They also said they were not asked to perform polygraph tests.

“So why would you let go without being investigated?” Kilmead asked.

“Well, Brian, when there was a series of serious leaks in the Pentagon, … we said enough. We’re going to do a leak investigation and then hand it over to OSI, which is the special investigator for DOD,” Hegseth said.

He continued: “Through investigations, the information surfaces, and that creates the responsibility for taking action. That’s how it works… When you actually investigate the leak, Brian,” he continued. “So, it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, we ask everybody, and everyone says they’re good.’ Or, you can take it seriously and say, “We don’t think this department is too leaky. ”

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Hegseth was under new scrutiny, and he shared his attack plan against Houthis, Yemeni, in a signal thread. He reportedly created a chat and shared information about his personal phone number.

Hegseth said Tuesday morning that the signal’s message was “informal” and “uncategorized”.

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