The Pentagon’s top military planner admitted to leaking classified information on Ukraine and Iran to two journalists from separate media outlets over a one-year period, according to an internal investigative report shared with Axios.
Why it’s important: Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia was fired this week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for alleged misconduct, which the career soldier admitted to on video after failing four polygraph tests, a U.S. official said.
- “He had difficulty passing several polygraph interviews,” the report states.
- The report accuses the general of making “unauthorized disclosures to the media” and says he “cooperated in answering questions about media interactions to resolve this issue, and provided his personal phone for forensic examination.”
Zoom: The report and U.S. officials say the leaks about Sylvia began as early as June 2025 — before major media outlets were removed from the Pentagon — and continued thereafter through the secure Signal app and once at a Silver Diner in Arlington, Virginia.
- “The restaurant meeting occurred because (redacted) access to the Pentagon was revoked between meetings,” the report said.
- “During the restaurant meeting, (Sylvia) relied on notes he took while reviewing a secret, classified report to orally give redacted explanations of U.S. aid to Ukraine, the report said.
- The report states that the journalist in question was writing a book and met Sylvia twice. He also stressed that the general “did not coordinate these meetings with (the Pentagon’s public affairs office) or seek to have the information reviewed before providing it to the reporter.”
The plot: US officials suspect Sylvia intentionally deleted all traces of contact on Signal between him and one of the journalists, but claimed it was an accident.
- “Between June and July, Sylvia received Signal messages from (redacted). Sylvia is unable to remember exactly what was in that message,” the report states. “But he thinks it has something to do with Iran.”
- “He stated that he did not respond to the message and deleted it. By deleting it, he believes he deleted the entire thread with (redacted),” the report states. “This erased Signal messages and phone calls that were allegedly stored in Signal on his personal phone.”
- Furthermore, according to the report, Sylvia “admitted to being one of 20 officials” named in an article criticizing Pentagon leadership.
Another American official told Axios that Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle and his office pressured the Joint Chiefs of Staff to issue a statement supporting Sylvia “to minimize the damage from any future claims that he disclosed classified information.”
- After someone within the Department of Defense revealed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff why Sylvia had been fired, the Joint Chiefs of Staff retracted their statement.
- An Army official disputed the notion that Telle’s office pushed for a statement supporting Sylvia:
- “This is the latest in a coordinated campaign of lies aimed at sowing chaos,” the army official said. “Acting Secretary Telle and his office have not advocated any statement regarding LTG Sylvia. This entire narrative is false.”
Sylvia’s dismissal marks the latest crackdown on leakers and the Hegseth Pentagon press.
- In July, the Defense Department announced the creation of a joint task force with the Justice Department aimed at identifying Pentagon leakers. He also called on the Pentagon’s Office of Legal Counsel to prioritize prosecution of those who make unauthorized disclosures to the media.
- Last year, in response to restrictive rules imposed by the Pentagon, several defense journalists and media outlets surrendered their passes.
What they say: Sylvia did not immediately respond to a phone call, voicemail and text message left at the phone number listed for him in public records.
This story has been updated with a comment from an Army official.
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