Jonathan Swan, Adam Entous, Maggie Habernman, and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times in a 4 September 2026 article titled “In Major Leak Hunt, Pentagon Gives Polygraph Tests to Joint Staff Members.” Excerpt:
U.S. government investigators have taken the extraordinary step of subjecting roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists, including about how the Iran war has created a shortage of crucial munitions, according to officials briefed on the move.
The investigators asked military officers and civilian employees on the Joint Staff if they disclosed classified information to members of the press, and about whether they provided information about diminished U.S. munitions stocks.
The polygraph tests were conducted in August after a flurry of news reports detailed diminished stocks of crucial munitions, including of long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors. The show of force appeared aimed at not just ferreting out anyone who may have shared information, but intimidating others who might do so in the future, according to people with knowledge of the effort.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials work for the Joint Staff, which coordinates operations, policy and war plans with combatant commanders around the world.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the department “does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly.”
“Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world,” he added.
The scope of the investigation is without parallel. Mass polygraph tests have never been administered to the top ranks of the U.S. military in modern history.
“I’ve never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level,” said Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter, a retired top judge advocate general for the Navy from 2000 to 2002. “In my experience, it’s unprecedented.”
Jennifer Jacobs, Eleanor Watson, and James LaPorta also report on the polygraph dragnet in a 5 September 2026 article titled, “Top military officials faced polygraphs over leaks of sensitive information on weapons stockpiles, sources say.” Their reporting adds that some people assigned to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) were also polygraphed, and that no one polygraphed failed the questions about leaking to the media. Excerpt:
Washington — Some of the highest-ranking officials in the U.S. military were subjected to polygraph tests as part of a sweeping leak probe after highly sensitive classified details about the nation’s stockpiles of sophisticated weapons were reported in the media, U.S. officials briefed on the matter told CBS News.
President Trump was furious about the leaks, according to three of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A very small set of people had access to the classified details on the munitions, and there was concern about whether anyone could potentially be acting as a foreign intelligence asset, one of the sources said.
Polygraph tests are often a part of the routine cadence for top military and civilian officials, but the mass volume of people who were pulled in for testing in this case was extremely rare, officials said.
Several dozen people were given the tests earlier this summer, including some U.S. Central Command officials as well as other combatant commanders.
The polygraph questions delved deeply into various national security-related matters. No one failed the questions meant to determine if these officials leaked to the media, two of the sources said.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CBS News on Friday night: “The Department does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly. Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world.”
Not all senior military officials were part of the testing. For example, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, wasn’t polygraphed, a senior Pentagon official said.
Neither the New York Times nor CBS News mentioned that polygraph “testing” has no scientific basis, is inherently biased against the truthful, and yet is easy for liars to pass using simple and effective countermeasures that polygraph operators cannot detect.
Indeed, as we have noted numerous times before, there is no documented instance of the polygraph ever solving a federal leak investigation.