Carol Leonning and Ken Dilanian report for MS NOW. Excerpt:
FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the polygraphing of more than two dozen former and current members of his security detail, as well as other staff, and has been described as being in panic mode to save his job and find leakers among his team, according to two people briefed on the development.
Patel walled himself off from some senior bureau leaders this week after multiple media reports raised red flags about his leadership, according to three people familiar with his recent actions. Two of the people told MS NOW that the director ordered the polygraphing this week of former and current security detail members, as well as several information technology staff.
The director has also avoided meeting this week with some key operational leaders of the bureau, the people said, raising concerns inside the FBI about Patel’s ability to stay abreast of pressing threats and investigations in order to make the best decisions.
FBI spokesman Ben Williamson declined to comment on whether Patel ordered polygraphs. He disputed claims that the director was walled off from his senior staff, saying Patel has regularly met with operational leaders, including his two deputy directors, assistant directors and an intelligence briefing team.
“I’ve been in the usual operational leader meetings with him every day this week … it’s false,” he said.
“The only people in panic are the ‘panicans’ in the media pushing out false stories because they spend zero time covering the record-breaking success in reduction in crime at this FBI,” Williamson added.
The FBI director demanded the polygraph examinations to determine if any members of the team that accompanies him on his travels or staff who have access to sensitive details about his decisions have communicated with reporters, according to the people, who asked to speak anonymously due to the threat of retribution.
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In 2025, Director Patel also ordered increased polygraph screening to discourage FBI employees from speaking to journalists. Some of those polygraphed were reportedly asked whether they had cast aspersions on Director Patel. In another case, an FBI employee was told that he was to be polygraphed about his friendship with former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok.
It bears repeating that there is no documented instance of polygraph screening ever solving a federal leak investigation. However, past polygraph dragnets have falsely implicated innocent employees. During the Reagan administration, military officials John Tillson, Robert McFarlane, and Michael Pillsbury all wrongly failed polygraphs in leak investigations.
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