Pentagon polygraph tests widen Trump administration’s leak investigation
About 50 Joint Staff personnel were reportedly tested in August as officials investigated alleged disclosures about weapons stocks in the Middle East.
Dozens of Pentagon officials were reportedly subjected to polygraph examinations in August as the Trump administration investigated suspected leaks about United States weapons stocks in the Middle East.
The New York Times reported that about 50 military officers and civilian officials working with the Joint Staff were tested. CBS News separately reported that several dozen people, including some Central Command officials, underwent examinations earlier in the summer.
Investigators reportedly asked Joint Staff personnel whether they had disclosed classified information about declining munitions stocks to journalists. The inquiry followed July reports that supplies of some long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors were running low.
The administration disputes those reports, saying the US has “massive amounts” of weaponry available and that further supplies are being manufactured and shipped. The available material does not establish whether the examinations identified any leakers. CBS News reported, citing two unnamed sources, that nobody failed questions intended to determine whether officials had leaked information.
The reported investigation involves the Pentagon, the Department of Justice and the FBI, although the polygraph examinations were conducted by military investigators without FBI involvement, according to The New York Times. The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed details, saying it does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters.
The tests form part of a broader leak crackdown under Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, including a Pentagon task force created with the Justice Department in July. The administration has also restricted journalists’ access to military officials and information as tensions over the handling of national security reporting have grown.
