Michael Evans of the London Times reports in a paywalled article titled “Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon descends into fear, loathing and lie detectors.” Excerpt:
Pentagon officials are living “in fear” of being forced to take polygraph tests to prove they are not leaking sensitive information to the media.
An email warning of the potential use of lie-detector testing has created an atmosphere of intimidation, according to one US defence source.
The source said the Pentagon was a “Pandora’s box” of uncertainty after the sacking of three top officials and the departure of two more high-ranking civilians in the past week, leaving Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, without key advisers.
“The extraordinary thing is that lie detector tests are being threatened not to uncover potential anti-President Trump civil servants but to catch political appointees suspected of leaking classified or sensitive information,” the source said.
An unpaywalled version of this article is available on the author’s personal blog here.
According to former chief Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot, none of the three sacked top officials referred to in the article (senior Hegseth advisor Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg’s chief of staff Colin Carroll) were polygraphed before being fired on Friday, 18 April 2025 (Good Friday), nor were they told the reason for their terminations.
AntiPolygraph.org welcomes tips from any Department of Defense employees with knowledge of the use or threat of use of polygraphs in ongoing leak investigations. We can be reached securely via Signal or SimpleX Chat.
Not trying to sound political here, but I am much more concerned about leaks coming from Hegseth himself than any leaks from his assistants. Hegseth has had at least two big screw-ups and appears to still have alcohol problems. As a former federal civil servant, I can say he would have never passed on to the interview stage.
[…] For related earlier reporting, see “DoD May Use Polygraphs in Musk Pentagon Visit Leak Investigation” and “Pentagon Officials Warned of Potential Polygraph Testing.” […]