WASHINGTON — Three top Pentagon officials who were accused of leaking unauthorized information this past week and escorted out of the Pentagon issued a statement Saturday proclaiming their innocence.

Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll served as senior advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg before they were fired.

“Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door,” the three wrote in a highly unusual joint statement posted on social media.

The three all served in uniform. The social media message noted that Caldwell and Carroll had served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it,” the officials wrote.

They added that they had not been told what they were accused of leaking.

— The New York Times