Lt Gen Brett Sylvia was dismissed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday after admitting he leaked classified Iran‑Ukraine war information to journalists over a year.
The leaks began in June 2025, when Sylvia used the encrypted app Signal to share details with reporters and even met a journalist in person at a Silver Diner in Arlington, Virginia, after the Pentagon revoked his access.
During the investigation, Sylvia failed three polygraph tests and deleted a Signal thread he claimed was accidental, but the report suggests he deliberately erased evidence.
Hegseth’s move follows a broader crackdown on media leaks, including a July joint task force with the Justice Department and new restrictions that caused several news outlets to surrender credentials.
President Donald Trump called Sylvia’s firing a sign of the administration’s “big problems” and said the government is “very much looking for leakers,” while Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle had earlier lobbied for a statement supporting Sylvia.
The DOJ has been notified and will decide on prosecution, and the Army has yet to announce a replacement for Sylvia’s post in the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate.