Sun Apr 20 21:10:00 UTC 2025: ## Pentagon Officials Fired Amidst Leak Investigation; Accuse Administration of Slander

**WASHINGTON, D.C.** – Three senior advisors to the Trump-Vance administration’s Department of Defense were abruptly terminated this week, sparking allegations of unfair targeting and a cover-up. Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, who served as senior advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, deputy chief of staff, and chief of staff to the Deputy Defense Secretary respectively, issued a joint statement Saturday accusing unnamed Pentagon officials of launching baseless attacks against their character.

The trio, all veterans with Iraq and/or Afghanistan deployments, were placed on administrative leave earlier this week pending an investigation into alleged leaks of sensitive information. Reportedly, the leaks involved military plans for the Panama Canal, a carrier deployment to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s Pentagon visit, and a pause in cyber-intelligence support for Ukraine. However, details surrounding the investigation remain scarce, fueling speculation about the motives behind their dismissal.

The statement highlights the irony of the investigation, noting that a far more serious breach—involving National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently inviting journalist Jeffrey Goldberg into a Signal chat discussing U.S. airstrikes—appears to have gone unpunished.

Reports suggest that Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff, may have been behind the investigation, stemming from personality clashes with the terminated advisors. Kasper himself has since been reassigned within the agency.

Concerns have also been raised about whether Caldwell’s dismissal was politically motivated. He has publicly advocated for a more realist and restraint-oriented foreign policy, particularly regarding the Middle East and Ukraine, a stance potentially at odds with the administration’s internal divisions over Iran policy. This incident follows similar accusations of smear campaigns targeting other realists within the administration.

The firings come against the backdrop of other significant news, including a controversial warning from the EU High Representative for foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, who implied consequences for member states attending Moscow’s Victory Day parade. This sparked backlash, particularly from Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, who condemned the EU’s perceived overreach into national sovereignty. The incident highlights growing tensions within the EU over its foreign policy approach towards Russia and Ukraine.

**Separate sections of the original text detailing extensive cuts to US soft power programs and academic research funding under the Trump administration have been omitted for brevity in this news article summary.**

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