US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Lt. General Brett Sylvia from the Pentagon's Joint Staff following allegations that he leaked classified information concerning operations in Iran and Ukraine to journalists. Investigators revealed that Sylvia failed polygraph tests and confessed on video to sharing sensitive military details using encrypted messaging and secret meetings. The ongoing inquiry highlights the administration's strict crackdown on security breaches and unauthorized disclosures within the military.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Lt. General Brett Sylvia from the Pentagon's Joint Staff following allegations that he leaked classified information concerning operations in Iran and Ukraine to journalists. Investigators revealed that Sylvia failed polygraph tests and confessed on video to sharing sensitive military details using encrypted messaging and secret meetings. The ongoing inquiry highlights the administration's strict crackdown on security breaches and unauthorized disclosures within the military.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Lt. General Brett Sylvia from the Pentagon's Joint Staff following allegations that he leaked classified information concerning operations in Iran and Ukraine to journalists. Investigators revealed that Sylvia failed polygraph tests and confessed on video to sharing sensitive military details using encrypted messaging and secret meetings. The ongoing inquiry highlights the administration's strict crackdown on security breaches and unauthorized disclosures within the military.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Lt. General Brett Sylvia, a high-ranking Army strategist serving on the Pentagon's Joint Staff, following allegations that he leaked classified information regarding operations in Iran and Ukraine to journalists over the past year. 

Sylvia was the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate. According to reports, he agreed that he shared classified information with two reporters from separate media outlets. 

A US official told Axios that Sylvia made the admissions on video after failing multiple polygraph tests during the investigation. 

Sylvia was dismissed by Hegseth on Wednesday, citing "severe misconduct". Pentagon officials confirmed that an investigation into the allegations remains ongoing. 

The report indicates the leaks began in June 2025 and persisted despite stricter Pentagon limits on press access. Investigators allege Sylvia communicated with reporters using the encrypted app Signal and conducted an in-person meeting with a journalist at a Silver Diner in Arlington, Virginia.

It was alleged that the dinner meeting took place after the journalist's access to the Pentagon had been revoked. 

According to investigators, Sylvia used notes compiled from a classified report to orally brief a reporter on sensitive details regarding US military aid to Ukraine.

The inquiry also focused on Sylvia’s exchange with one reporter via Signal between June and July concerning Iranian military affairs. According to the report, Sylvia claimed he could not remember the message's exact contents and stated he accidentally deleted the entire chat thread when attempting to erase the entry

US officials suspect that Sylvia deliberately deleted the communications and presented the action as accidental. 

While reacting to the Lieutenant General's removal, US President Donald Trump said that Sylvia had "big problems" and the administration is "very much looking for leakers." 

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