One collection of documents is hidden inside a gun safe in Northern Virginia. Another is stored in a safe-deposit box at a Washington, DC, bank. A third has been secured somewhere on the West Coast.
Together, the three caches contain evidence that disgruntled Defense Department officials believe could eventually push Pete Hegseth from office after next week’s midterm elections.
Pentagon sources told Our News Outlet that they and their colleagues have spent much of the past 22 months gathering emails, memorandums and notes from meetings.
The material outlines instances in which the defense secretary and members of his inner circle allegedly disregarded strategic and legal advice, berated the specialists who offered it, withheld information from Congress and the public, and threatened the careers of subordinates who challenged his decisions or were deemed too woke, fat, queer or disloyal.
They believe the paper trail, combined with a roster of potential witnesses inside the department, could prove valuable if Democrats regain control of the House in November and launch an expected impeachment investigation in 2027.
‘We’re ready with the receipts,’ said a veteran Army officer who keeps a Trapper Keeper — once his daughter’s high-school binder — secured inside a double-locked basement gun safe. The folder contains documents he believes could eventually help bring down his boss.
He is among several Defense Department insiders who described coordinated plans to provide lawmakers with documentary evidence and firsthand accounts as they consider investigating and potentially impeaching Hegseth.
All spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears about their jobs, military pensions and their ability to continue building a case from within the Pentagon.
Pentagon insiders have spent months quietly assembling a potentially damaging dossier on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, hoping it could contribute to his removal after the midterm elections, Our News Outlet has learned
Hegseth is pictured visiting troops in the Middle East in May. Insiders say repeated leadership changes have left service members uncertain about the military’s future direction (Source: SecWar/X account)
‘We’re sticking our necks out. You have to protect us,’ one source pleaded.
The disclosures come as news emerged Wednesday that Hegseth had dismissed the Pentagon’s top military planner, Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia.
Sylvia, who previously led strategy, plans and policy at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was removed after reportedly leaking classified information about the war in Iran and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. His dismissal came as President Donald Trump weighs renewed strikes against Iran following next week’s midterm elections.
Since early 2025, Our News Outlet has maintained contact with a core group of military and civilian officials inside the Pentagon who, together with others in the department, have sought in different ways to raise alarms about Hegseth.
The former Fox & Friends host has renamed the federal government’s largest agency the ‘Department of War’ and, according to the insiders, operates it as a personal fiefdom.
The sources first expressed concern about the prominent role played by Hegseth’s wife, former Fox News producer Jennifer Hegseth.
After reports surfaced that she had participated in encrypted Signal chats involving sensitive details of a March 2025 US strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen, insiders revealed the nickname used for her inside the Pentagon: ‘Yoko Ono,’ a reference to her frequent presence during her husband’s official meetings.
By spring 2025, the insiders were accusing Hegseth of making decisions and setting policy without seeking — or even hearing — advice from intelligence, security, logistics and legal officials.
Hegseth’s critics are counting on a possible Democratic takeover of the House to prompt impeachment proceedings, although some believe sustained political pressure could persuade President Trump to dismiss him
They described a department marked by politicized decisions, widespread dysfunction, low morale and a climate of suspicion fueled by what they characterize as Hegseth’s determination to eliminate dissent.
Several set out their concerns in a 2025 letter circulated among senior and mid-level military leaders and civilian employees. One source said the message was intended to ‘let the American public know this guy has no clue what he’s doing.’
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell dismissed the concerns at the time as ‘palace intrigue’ and ‘sensationalized mainstream media gossip’ that Americans ‘don’t care about.’
‘They care about action,’ his statement said.
The warnings intensified as Hegseth continued removing senior officials, including the Army secretary and chief of staff, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Navy’s highest-ranking officer, the top commander of US forces in Europe and Africa, the judge advocates general of three military branches and dozens of civilian Pentagon employees.
Their concerns escalated again after dozens of extrajudicial strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the western Pacific began last fall. They became even more urgent in February, when the Trump administration launched an attack on Iran without a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization.
Hegseth declared an early victory over Iran last winter and said the United States had achieved ‘every single objective.’
The sources, however, said he ignored and at times concealed troubling facts about the conflict: the military had not been fully prepared for the attack, US facilities across the Middle East sustained serious damage, and supplies of key munitions were running low.
Hegseth has also faced criticism over allegations that he is seeking to impose a narrow form of Christian nationalism on the military
The sources say the mockery has extended to Hegseth’s wife Jennifer, who is reportedly known as ‘Yoko’ after Yoko Ono for attending senior meetings and participating in a sensitive Signal chat about military operations despite having no formal Pentagon position
As recently as Friday, President Donald Trump warned that the United States ‘may do another little [Operation] Epic Fury’ against Iran soon.
The Pentagon insiders all said Hegseth has repeatedly been told that continuing the war with Iran cannot be sustained.
Some believe his new ‘doomsday plan’ — directing every major US military base to prepare to operate for at least 90 days without external electricity, fuel, water or supplies — is an attempt to address the risk without having to advise the president to abandon his war plans.
‘Pete’s lucky to be here and he knows it. He’s never going to say no to Trump,’ one source said.
Two sources said they had participated, either directly or indirectly, in briefings for members of Congress and their staff about Hegseth’s leadership of the military.
The meetings were deliberately informal and low-tech, and took place far from Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. One source said briefings were held at locations including a sandwich shop and a dog park.
Speaking out against a boss carries significant risks.
Two sources described an informal agreement that meetings with lawmakers and interviews with journalists should be conducted by officials nearing retirement rather than by employees whose careers remain ahead of them.
Disaffected military and civilian officials at the Pentagon have reportedly hidden emails, memorandums and meeting notes in secure locations, hoping to turn the material over to lawmakers
Military personnel listen as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers a State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in September
‘If heads roll, it should be those of us who have already raised our families and put our children through college,’ one said.
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Some lawmakers have already attempted to intervene.
Last December, Michigan Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar introduced two articles of impeachment.
The first centered on the boat strikes in the Caribbean, which some Pentagon insiders told us could amount to war crimes.
The second accused Hegseth of transmitting classified war plans over Signal to people without security clearances: his wife in one group chat and The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in another.
In April, Arizona Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari filed six articles of impeachment. Her allegations included launching an unauthorized war against Iran, targeting civilians at a school there and obstructing congressional oversight.
Both efforts were blocked in Republican-controlled committees.
Last month, outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie went further, reading eight articles of impeachment on the House floor, including the allegations raised by the two Democratic lawmakers.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie has previously called for Hegseth’s impeachment and intends to renew that effort after the midterms
When Massie tried to force a vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home early until after the midterms. The Kentucky Republican plans to make another attempt during the week of November 9.
A growing number of Republicans in both chambers are reportedly losing faith in Hegseth, although Massie’s resolution could still face an uphill battle in a House controlled by the GOP.
‘Trump should fire Hegseth to avoid Hegseth’s impeachment,’ Massie wrote on X on October 15, the same day Trump overruled his defense secretary’s proposal to livestream the firing-squad execution of the man convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. ‘It’s the honorable thing to do.’
Military and civilian Defense Department employees are generally expected to remain politically neutral while on the job.
But one longtime officer, who said he had avoided politics throughout a career lasting more than 30 years, felt unable to remain detached after Trump appointed Hegseth.
‘Democratic control can’t come soon enough,’ said the registered Republican, who hopes Democrats will soon have the votes and subpoena power needed to begin formal investigations.
House Democrats have been open about their desire to remove Hegseth. Candidates on the campaign trail have blamed him for soaring gas prices and an Iran war with no clear end.
California Representative Jared Huffman has described the secretary as an ‘unhinged fanatic’ whose tenure must end as quickly as possible.
Virginia Representative Suhas Subramanyam, the ranking Democrat on the oversight subcommittee dealing with military and foreign affairs, has backed investigating Hegseth in the next Congress.
Sources previously told Our News Outlet that Hegseth, pictured on September 2, has been operating his Department of War as a personal fiefdom
New Mexico Representative Melanie Stansbury has said impeaching Hegseth should rank among the House Democrats’ three highest priorities.
‘One of the first things we’re going to do in the majority is run Pete Hegseth out of town,’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become speaker in January, told Pennsylvania voters earlier this month.
A House Armed Services Committee staffer, speaking anonymously, said he remains in close contact with several Pentagon whistleblowers and is aware of their efforts to provide evidence for a possible impeachment inquiry.
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The House has impeached a secretary of war only once. In 1876, Secretary of War William Belknap resigned to President Ulysses Grant just minutes before the vote. The Senate later acquitted him.
Even if Democrats secure the simple majority needed to impeach Hegseth in the next term, the case would proceed to a Senate trial, where conviction requires a two-thirds supermajority.
‘It’s a long shot,’ the committee staffer acknowledged.
The insiders said they would welcome alternatives to a conviction if those options resulted in Hegseth leaving office.
One possibility would be Trump firing him, as he did Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem less than two months after impeachment articles were filed against her. Another would be Hegseth resigning under sustained political pressure.
Hegseth has been rumored to be considering a presidential campaign since appearing at a political event in Iowa in August, a report he described as ‘100% false.’
In recent weeks, he has also reportedly been seeking an appointment to Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Senate seat if she wins the Tennessee governor’s race in November, as expected. Hegseth lived in the state briefly before joining the cabinet.
A Pentagon insider who once viewed Hegseth optimistically said the secretary had faced intense scrutiny since his early-2025 confirmation hearings, when lawmakers from both parties questioned him about allegations of excessive drinking and a 2017 sexual-assault claim. Hegseth denied both allegations.
He survived confirmation by the narrowest possible margin: a 50-50 vote broken by Vice President JD Vance.
‘They left no room for the possibility that he had changed his ways or that service members might embrace him,’ the source said of Hegseth’s critics.
The insider pointed to longstanding attacks on Hegseth’s outspoken opposition to ‘wokeness’ and his Christian nationalist views, positions he said remain popular among many rank-and-file troops.
He characterized other complaints — including the makeup studio installed inside the Pentagon, staged weightlifting photo opportunities with troops, and Hegseth’s new grooming, shaving and testosterone-testing policies — as ‘petty distractions, but not impeachable offenses.’
That source said the focus should shift away from culture-war disputes and toward what he considers war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Caribbean and Iran.
‘Let’s sweat the big stuff, not the small stuff,’ he said Friday.
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama revived some of the more minor criticisms on Saturday.
‘You’ve got the defense secretary… he’s very focused on important matters like the jawlines and testosterone levels of our troops,’ Obama told a campaign rally in Ohio.
‘How much time do you think this defense secretary spends looking at himself in the mirror in the morning?’
Responding to Our News Outlet’s request for comment, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said: ‘At the War Department, we are solely focused on Peace Through Strength and ensuring our warfighters have everything they need to be successful. We are proud to serve our warriors.’
