MELTDOWN: Ex-Pentagon Spox Drops Brutal Bombshell on ‘Baffling Purges’ and ‘Total Chaos’ at Hegseth DOD — ‘Hard to See Him Remaining’
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former chief Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot, who resigned from the Pentagon last week, dropped an oped at Politico on Sunday night absolutely blistering the tenure to date of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, writing of “strange and baffling” purges, spreading “easily debunked falsehoods” to the press, and “dysfunction” so severe that it may, he said, end Hegseth’s time at the DOD.
Ullyot, a longtime loyalist to President Donald Trump who served in the first administration and on the campaign, has previously been highly complimentary and supportive of Hegseth, even penning an editorial for Townhall advocating the appointment to SecDef.
But, as he wrote in Politico on Sunday, the “Month From Hell” that has just taken place in the nation’s Defense structure has been so chaotic and such a liability for Trump that, “it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”
Ullyot blasted Hegseth’s operation for “smearing” former staff to the media, including top advisers Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick.
In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month.
Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Hegseth’s team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door.
“Hegseth is now presiding over a strange and baffling purge that will leave him without his two closest advisers of over a decade,” Ullyot wrote. “More firings may be coming, according to rumors in the building.”
“In short, the building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership,” he added.
He spoke about the string of bad news from Hegseth’s tenure to date, calling it the Month From Hell and recounting the SignalGate and other disastrous moments. On Sunday news broke that Hegseth had another, separate Signal chat in which he disclosed war plans, in that case to members of his family.
“There are very likely more shoes to drop in short order, with even bigger bombshell stories coming this week, key Pentagon reporters have been telling sources privately,” Ullyot wrote.
After a great many disturbing details in the article, the former Hegseth insider closed by suggesting that Trump would be “applauded” for getting rid of Hegseth right away.
“The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon,” he said. “Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.”
