Disgruntled Pentagon insiders have quietly built a hidden cache they believe could finally end Pete Hegseth's tenure as defense secretary.
Several Defense Department officials have spent close to two years collecting emails, memos and meeting notes about Hegseth and stashing copies in separate hiding spots, the Daily Mail reported Saturday. One set sits in a gun safe in Northern Virginia, another in a safe-deposit box at a Washington bank and a third somewhere on the West Coast, according to the outlet.
The insiders said the records document times Hegseth and his inner circle allegedly brushed aside strategic and legal guidance, lashed out at the advisers who offered it, kept information from Congress and the public and threatened the careers of subordinates who challenged him or whom he saw as disloyal.
They're betting the paper trail, along with a roster of possible witnesses inside the department, will matter if Democrats win the House next week and open an impeachment inquiry in 2027.
"We're ready with the receipts," a longtime Army officer told the Daily Mail. He keeps his copies in an old school binder that belonged to his daughter, double-locked in a gun safe in his basement.
The sources all spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears for their jobs and military pensions. Two said they've had a hand in briefing lawmakers and congressional aides, with one describing meetings held at a sandwich shop and a dog park, well away from Capitol Hill.
To limit the fallout, the insiders have agreed that officials nearing retirement handle any off-the-books meetings with lawmakers and interviews with reporters, sparing colleagues whose careers are still ahead of them, two sources said.
One officer with a career spanning more than 30 years, a registered Republican who said he long ignored politics, told the Daily Mail he's eager for the House to change hands. "Democratic control can't come soon enough," he said.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, responding to the Daily Mail, said the department is "solely focused on Peace Through Strength" and equipping its troops.