Fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia failed four polygraph examinations and could now face a court-martial over alleged leaks of classified information to reporters at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, according to Newsmax.
Three sources familiar with the investigation told Axios that Sylvia, the Pentagon's former top military planner, admitted to making unauthorized disclosures during two videotaped interviews totaling more than two hours. Sources said his alleged conduct could violate the military law prohibiting "conduct unbecoming of an officer."
"The president has no tolerance for leakers, so Sylvia's termination is the first step in the accountability process, not the last," one source told Axios. War Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Sylvia last week after investigators uncovered the alleged leaks.
The Justice Department is investigating allegations that Sylvia shared classified information with Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Gordon beginning in the fall of 2025. An internal Pentagon report obtained by Axios detailed meetings between the two, including one inside the Pentagon and another at a Silver Diner restaurant in Arlington, Virginia.
"Major General Sylvia relied on notes he took while reviewing a classified secret report to orally brief Gordon on assistance to Ukraine," the report stated. A separate legal assessment alleged Sylvia also disclosed classified information involving "munitions stockpiles and high-level interagency discussions with Iran," according to a source briefed on the findings.
Investigators also scrutinized a message Gordon sent Sylvia over the encrypted app Signal in June or July. "Sylvia is unable to recall exactly what was in that message," the report stated, adding that he believed it involved Iran and that he deleted it without responding.
According to investigators, Sylvia acknowledged deleting the entire Signal conversation, potentially wiping out messages and call records. The investigation was conducted by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the report said Sylvia was cooperative and provided his personal phone for a forensic examination, Axios reported earlier.
The Pentagon report also identified one conversation with New York Times reporter Greg Jaffe concerning Hegseth's removal of senior military leaders. Neither journalist has been accused of wrongdoing.
The Pentagon's Joint Staff has also come under scrutiny after it issued a favorable farewell statement following Sylvia's dismissal, then retracted it. "You don't get four polygraphs deep without the head of the Joint Staff being briefed at some point," one source told Axios.
Assistant War Secretary Sean Parnell warned in a statement last week that "classified information is not personal property." He added that "leaking it for personal, political or professional gain is a betrayal of the trust placed in those responsible for keeping it."
Not everyone at the Pentagon accepts the allegations. Two other Pentagon sources told CBS News the firing was tied to the polygraph tests but disputed that Sylvia leaked classified information.
A Pentagon official initially put the number of failed polygraphs at three. Attorneys have also questioned whether publicly disclosing the polygraph results violated the Privacy Act.
Newsmax said it reached out to both newspapers but did not receive an immediate response. Sylvia could not be reached for comment.
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