An investigation into leaks at the Pentagon was disrupted after a senior adviser to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth made unsubstantiated claims about warrantless surveillance, according to four people familiar with the matter. The adviser, Justin Fulcher, suggested to Hegseth’s then chief of staff and personal lawyer that he had evidence of National Security Agency (NSA) wiretaps that could identify the leakers.
Fulcher offered to share the supposed evidence on condition that he could help run the investigation, sources said. However, when he eventually met with officials, it became clear he had no such evidence, and the Pentagon had been misled. The development was not communicated to the White House, leading several Trump advisers to believe the wiretap claim was part of the “smoking gun” evidence against three aides later fired by Hegseth.
Fulcher has denied the account, stating he never suggested there were NSA wiretaps or that he had access to wiretap records. “I never approached Parlatore, Kasper or anyone else offering ‘surveillance evidence’ and did not ask to join an investigation on that or any other basis,” he said in a statement.
The episode adds to concerns about dysfunction inside Hegseth’s front office, which oversees a nearly $1tn budget and more than two million troops worldwide. The leak investigation led to the dismissal of senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief Darin Selnick, and deputy secretary’s chief of staff Colin Carroll, creating a leadership vacuum.
Fulcher began at the Pentagon on the first day of the Trump administration as the lead staffer for the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), with a top-secret clearance and a mandate from Elon Musk to oversee mass cuts. He was later replaced by Musk but retained as a senior adviser by Hegseth. His responsibilities remained unclear, earning him the nickname “Disa” – director of suspicious affairs.
