Washington DC - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is once again in the hot seat as he faces accusations that his lawyer lied about using illegal wiretapping to find dirt on a Pentagon staffer.

According to The Guardian, Hegseth's attorney, Tim Parlatore, was recently tasked with overseeing an investigation into a series of leaks at the Pentagon, particularly the leak of a top-secret document that detailed options for the US military to reclaim the Panama Canal.

White House advisors were left "alarmed" after Parlatore claimed an illegal warrantless National Security Agency (NSA) wiretap was used to find classified documents on the phone of Hegseth's then-advisor, Dan Caldwell.

The wiretapping was used to justify Caldwell's firing, along with deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and the deputy defense secretary's chief of staff, Colin Carroll.

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The advisors discovered the wiretap claim was untrue and complained they were "being fed dubious information" by Parlatore. They were then left "stunned" after Parlatore denied having told anyone about the wiretapping.

The back-and-forth has created a breakdown in trust between the Pentagon and the White House, causing Parlatore to be removed from the investigation and replaced by Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg.

Since being appointed to his role, Hegseth has been embroiled in multiple scandals, sparking speculation that President Donald Trump may soon oust him.

Trump recently blocked Hegseth's pick to replace the Pentagon's chief of staff, opting instead to make his own selection.