The U.S. military has referred fired Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia for criminal prosecution, following an accusation by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the high-ranking military planner leaked sensitive information.
The military executed the criminal referral on Thursday, exactly one day after Hegseth dismissed Sylvia from his Pentagon post. The dismissal was initially announced without a public explanation before a Pentagon spokesperson subsequently clarified that Sylvia was relieved of his duties to protect sensitive government information.
Sylvia previously served as a lieutenant general, holding a prominent position as the top military planner within the Pentagon. President Donald Trump addressed the development during comments to reporters on Thursday, stating that Sylvia was “gonna have big problems” and adding that his administration is “very much looking for leakers.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed in a formal statement that the situation involving Sylvia, “along with others,” has been officially referred to the Justice Department. Concurrently, the Justice Department stated that it maintains “ongoing investigations related to possible leaks of classified information.”
The criminal referral arrives amid a broader internal push under Hegseth to curb unauthorized disclosures of department operations to the public. As part of this wider Pentagon overhaul, leadership has restricted press access to military officials and records, encompassing even unclassified information, in an effort to eliminate leaks.
