Pentagon subjects dozens of senior officers to lie detector after leaks

The American government took the exceptional step of subjecting around fifty members of the American Joint Chiefs of Staff to polygraph tests, following leaks of information, the New York Times reported this Friday. The polygraph screening of military officers and civilian employees of the Joint Chiefs of Staff comes as several media outlets have revealed details of how the war against Iran has depleted U.S. stockpiles of critical munitions, and reported concerns within the administration about the strategic direction of the conflict.

These polygraph tests were conducted during the month of August. According to three sources who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity, US President Donald Trump was furious about the leaks. Only a few people had access to classified information about the munitions, and its disclosure raised fears that some of them were foreign intelligence agents.

According to two sources, no one failed the tests. However, not all senior military officials have passed them. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, for example, has not been tested, a senior Pentagon official told CBS News. Furthermore, the FBI was not involved in the tests, the army having its own investigators.

“Unprecedented”

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Defense Department “does not comment on internal personnel matters or pending investigative matters, but takes all leaks of classified national security information very seriously and investigates accordingly.” Securing classified information is essential to ensuring the security of the United States and our troops deployed around the world,” he added.

The scale of this investigation is unprecedented. Never before have the highest ranking officers in the American army been subjected to mass polygraph tests, according to the two American newspapers. “I have never seen the polygraph used so widely or at such a high level of responsibility,” assured Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter, former Judge Advocate General of the Navy from 2000 to 2002, to the New York Times. “In my experience, this is unprecedented.”

“Fantastic work”

Donald Trump has widely pressured members of his administration to actively pursue the people behind the leaks, and has called media coverage critical of the United States' handling of the war in Iran a "betrayal."

In July, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon and the Justice Department had formed a joint task force to identify and prosecute individuals suspected of leaking sensitive government information to the press. It gave the Pentagon's Office of Legal Counsel broad powers to obtain information, documents and assistance in the investigation.

These recent information leaks have intensified a climate of deep distrust and paranoia within the Pentagon, reports the New York daily, while current and former officials attribute this heavy atmosphere to Pete Hegseth. Since May 5, the defense secretary has not held a briefing with the Pentagon press corps about the war in Iran, and has sought to limit journalists' access to the Pentagon. Donald Trump, however, gave his support to Pete Hegseth, saying that he was doing a “fantastic job”, despite growing concerns about turmoil at the head of the Defense Department.