The Defense Department’s temporary top policy official, retired officer and conspiracy theorist Anthony Tata, has tested positive for coronavirus after meeting with a foreign official infected with the virus who recently visited the Pentagon, adding even more turmoil to a building still rattled by outgoing President Donald Trump’s recent purge of top officials.
Tata, who was elevated to perform the duties of undersecretary of defense for policy last week after Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller fired his predecessor, tested positive for the virus after meeting with Lithuanian Minister of Defense Raimundas Karoblis. The Lithuanian Embassy notified the Pentagon on Thursday that Karoblis had contracted COVID-19.
