Oct. 30 (UPI) — The U.S. Military has referred fired general Brett Sylvia for criminal prosecution after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused him of leaking sensitive information.
The military made the criminal referral on Thursday, a day after Hegseth fired Sylvia. The firing was initially made public without an explanation before a Pentagon spokesperson said Sylvia was fired to “protect sensitive information.”
Sylvia was a lieutenant general, a high-ranking position placing him as the top military planner in the Pentagon.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that Sylvia was “gonna have big problems.” The Justice Department said it has “ongoing investigations related to possible leaks of classified information.”
Sean Parnell, Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that the situation involving Sylvia, “along with others,” has been referred to the Justice Department.
Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has taken a number of actions to stop information about its operations from being shared with the public, restricting press access to military officials and records, including unclassified information.
Hegseth has also sought to stop any leaks from the department to the press. Trump said Thursday that his administration is “very much looking for leakers.”
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