Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia from the Joint Staff after a Pentagon official said he failed three polygraph examinations, in a disclosure tied to a report. The statement also accused him of leaking classified information about Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The disclosure put Sylvia, a former director of strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Staff known as the J5, at the center of two overlapping issues: the leak inquiry and whether personnel records were handled in a way that could run into the Privacy Act of 1974. The investigation remained ongoing and had been referred to the Justice Department.
Brad Moss on Privacy Act
Brad Moss, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who focuses on national security and security clearance law, said the public release of the polygraph information raised legal concerns. He said, “It defies belief to see … [the] leaking of Privacy Act-protected information of an employee in order to accuse that same employee of themselves being accused of unauthorized leaks”.
Polygraph results are ordinarily kept in personnel security or counterintelligence records, which is why the disclosure drew attention beyond Sylvia's removal. He was described as a highly decorated three-star general with a Purple Heart and six Bronze Star Medals, one of them for valor.
Pentagon sources dispute leak claim
Two other Pentagon sources told CBS News that the firing was tied to the polygraph tests but disputed the claim that Sylvia leaked classified information. reported that he spoke to at least one journalist while on the Joint Staff but denied sharing sensitive or classified information.
Axios later reported that Sylvia admitted to leaking classified information about Ukraine and Iran to two reporters from separate news outlets over a one year period, according to an internal report obtained by the news agency. That account and the earlier denial leave the core factual dispute unresolved inside the public record.
For Sylvia, the practical consequence is immediate: his position is gone, the leak inquiry is still open, and the Justice Department is now part of the process. The remaining issue is what evidence led the Pentagon to conclude that he leaked classified information.
