A senior adviser to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth falsely claimed to have evidence of National Security Agency (NSA) wiretaps that could identify leakers, according to four people familiar with the episode. Justin Fulcher, a former Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) staffer, suggested to Hegseth's then-chief of staff Joe Kasper and personal lawyer Tim Parlatore that he knew of warrantless surveillance that had pinpointed the leakers. He offered to share the supposed evidence if allowed to help run the investigation.
When Fulcher eventually sat down with officials, it became clear he had no evidence of a wiretap, and the Pentagon had been misled. However, this 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. The Guardian previously reported unsubstantiated NSA wiretap claims underpinning the leak investigation, but Fulcher's involvement had not been disclosed.
Fulcher 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.
The episode adds to dysfunction inside Hegseth's front office, which oversees a nearly $1tn budget and more than two million troops. The leak investigation led to the firing of senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief Darin Selnick, and deputy secretary's chief of staff Colin Carroll, creating a leadership vacuum filled by Ricky Buria, considered a liability by the White House. Hegseth faces scrutiny at upcoming defence posture hearings on Capitol Hill.
Fulcher started at the Pentagon on the first day of the Trump administration as Doge lead, armed with a top secret clearance and a mandate from Elon Musk to oversee mass cuts. He was given offices near the defence secretary's and claimed to have worked for the NSA, though no checks were made. He was later replaced as Doge lead but retained as a senior adviser, earning the nickname 'Disa' for 'director of suspicious affairs'.
