“Veritas ex Machina”

FrontPageMagazine.com columnist Lowell Ponte discusses polygraphy in the context of Rep. Gary Condit’s recent polygraph “test.” Excerpt: A LIE-DETECTOR HAS VINDICATED GARY CONDIT. That was the message the California Congressman’s politically-cunning lawyer Abbe Lowell released to the press late last Friday. Within minutes, Leftist pundits were on television declaring that the Modesto Democrat had reclaimed … Read more

“Off the Graph: Polygraphs Fail to Weed Out Liars from Talented Test-Takers”

The Wichita Falls, Texas Times Record News addresses polygraphy in this editorial. Excerpt: U.S. Rep. Gary Condit may or may not have had anything to do with the disappearance of Chandra Levy. But, we won’t get any closer to the truth of the matter if we’re going to depend on lie detectors to get us … Read more

“News Reporter Puts Polygraph to the Test: Lie Detector Exam Catches His Fibs Every Time”

New York Daily News staff writer Robert Ingrassia reports. Excerpt: If Rep. Gary Condit knows more than he’s saying about the disappearance of intern Chandra Levy, he’s got reason to fear a full-fledged lie detector test. I should know. I underwent a polygraph exam yesterday — and got caught in a lie. In the process, … Read more

“Only Problem: They Don’t Detect Lies”

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll comments on polygraphy. Excerpt: PERHAPS BY THE time this column appears, Rep. Gary Condit will have taken his lie-detector test. Lovers of justice will be able to rest easy, comfortable in the knowledge that we have learned not a thing more than we knew before. Friends, here we have … Read more

“Lie Detector Tests Are Hard to Beat”

So says Modesto Bee staff writer John Gorenfeld in an article thus titled. Clearly, Gorenfeld has not yet discovered “the lie behind the lie detector” (and the polygraphers with whom he spoke didn’t clue him in). Excerpt: Just how much does Rep. Gary Condit know about the disappearance of Chandra Levy, the Modesto woman last … Read more

“Truth Is Elusive in Debate Over Lie Detectors”

Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn comments on polygraphy. Excerpt: The lie detector is a powerful tool. So powerful, in fact, that it doesn’t even have to exist to be effective. This story of the telephone scam allegedly run by two Cook County Jail inmates underscores how the reputation of this technology is its strongest asset. … Read more

“Attorney Says Condit Passed Polygraph Test”

Washington Post staff writers Allan Lengel and Petula Dvorak report. Excerpt: Rep. Gary A. Condit’s attorney announced yesterday that the congressman had passed a privately administered lie detector test that asked critical questions about the disappearance of Chandra Levy, but police officials immediately questioned its validity. The announcement that Condit had passed a polygraph — … Read more

“Condit Takes Private Polygraph”

CBS News reports that Abbe D. Lowell, Rep. Gary D. Condit’s attorney, has announced that the congressman has taken and passed a polygraph “test” in connection with the whereabouts of Chandra Levy. Excerpt: (CBS) Gary Condit’s lawyer says the embattled congressman has taken and passed a lie detector test – one administered independently, and not … Read more

“Machine Usually Right”

In an article replete with misinformation, Richard Sisk of the New York Daily News Washington bureau reports on polygraphy. Excerpt: WASHINGTON If they do it right, the cops would be about 96% sure whether Rep. Gary Condit was involved in Chandra Levy’s disappearance after hooking him up to a lie detector, polygraph experts said yesterday. … Read more