Pentagon Fires General as Leak Probe Targets Its Ranks

Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid allegations that he shared classified information with journalists, allegations the Pentagon hasn’t established publicly. The department cited no reason when it first confirmed his removal. Now it says the matter has been referred to the Justice Department for possible legal action.

The apparatus closes ranks

A defense official said Hegseth fired Sylvia late Wednesday from his post as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Staff. CBS and Fox reported the dismissal was related to alleged leaks; CBS cited a Pentagon official who said Sylvia failed three polygraph tests about sharing classified information with the media. The Associated Press reported an official said Sylvia was being investigated over alleged disclosures about the Iran war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other topics. The allegations remain unestablished publicly.

The Joint Staff first issued a statement wishing Sylvia well and thanking him and his family for 32 years of service. Then it withdrew the statement. A spokesperson explained: “Upon further review, we determined that the statement did not appropriately reflect the full circumstances.” The revised silence arrived without a public account of those circumstances.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on X that the Defense Department “has zero tolerance for the intentional, unauthorized disclosure of classified information” and had taken “necessary personnel action to protect sensitive information.” He didn’t name Sylvia, adding that “no further comment will be made regarding the individual or the circumstances of this action.” Parnell said the matter, “along with others,” had been referred to the Justice Department for “potential further legal action.” The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press reported it wasn’t clear why the Pentagon appeared to be pursuing charges in civilian courts rather than trying Sylvia through the military justice system. The public has been given an accusation, a personnel decision and a wall of official non-answers.

Secrecy, purges and war plans

When reporters asked about the firing Thursday, President Donald Trump said, “She's gonna have big problems,” incorrectly identifying Sylvia as a woman. “We're very much looking for leakers,” Trump said. The removal came as Trump weighed possible renewed strikes against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections. A Pentagon official said Sylvia wasn’t a “central planner” on the Iran conflict, which was the purview of U.S. Central Command.

Trump said last week, “We may do another little Epic Fury,” referring to U.S.-Israeli attacks on Tehran in February that triggered the war. He gave no timing. The United States and Iran hadn’t engaged in major attacks on land-based targets since early September, instead settling into a pattern of strikes on commercial ships. The conflict’s military decisions sit alongside an effort to police what information reaches the public.

The Pentagon has also restricted media access: journalists must be escorted on Pentagon grounds, and the department has declared its press office a classified space inaccessible to journalists. Sylvia didn’t immediately respond to voicemail, text messages, emails or a LinkedIn message sent to accounts and numbers that appeared to belong to him.

A command structure reshaped

Sylvia’s dismissal follows a series of departures and ousters under Hegseth. Trump fired Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, without explanation in February 2025. Other officers pushed out included the heads of the U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard; the general who headed the National Security Agency; the vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force; a Navy admiral assigned to NATO; and three top military lawyers. Hegseth has said the president is choosing the leaders he wants. Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about possible politicization of the traditionally neutral U.S. military.

Last month, Hegseth said the United States had cut the number of its generals and admirals by 20 percent, calling the move “accountability” and an “accomplishment.” He suggested the cuts targeted officers who hadn’t supported his effort to focus the military on war-fighting rather than the “woke” policies of previous administrations.

Hegseth also fired three aides from his inner circle last year during a broader leak investigation that included polygraph tests. In a joint statement shared by senior aide Dan Caldwell, the three said they were “incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended” and accused unnamed Pentagon officials of “baseless attacks.” Hegseth gave no further information about the accusations; Caldwell later was hired by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The investigation’s public record remains thin. Its consequences, inside a military command structure being reshaped by the president and defense secretary, are not.