Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
John Matisonn of the Sunday Independent reports in an article titled, “Spooks probe sex lives of presidential press.” Excerpt: The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been questioning journalists on details of their sex lives, as part of a security clearance process for membership of a proposed new presidential press corps. Colleagues of the journalists who …
Bob Park of the American Physical Society comments on polygraphy in the 19 April 2002 installment of his weekly column, “What’s New”: 4. LIE DETECTORS: HAS THE POLYGRAPH EVER UNCOVERED A SPY? WN believes it has not (WN 5 Apr 02). If it has, the government has never acknowledged the fact. The National Academy of …
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports in a story titled “Behind the scenes with Madonna.” Excerpt: Madonna’s production company is to co-produce a game show for US television. The star’s Maverick TV company will co-produce Truth or Dare, an “edgy adult” show giving a new spin on the popular party game. US network NBC has …
Attorney Mark S. Zaid discusses polygraph policy in this op-ed column. Excerpt: In the wake of the FBI’s embarrassment at having one of its own caught spying for the Russians, former FBI director William Webster was appointed to head a commission to find out what went wrong. The commission concluded that lax security allowed Special …
Fort Worth, Texas Star-Telegram staff writer Mike Cochran reports. Excerpt: FORT WORTH – It was going to be James Byrd’s day of vindication. After spending almost five years in prison for a crime that he and his older brother Donnie Johnson say Johnson committed, Byrd took a polygraph test Tuesday in the special crimes unit …
The Associated Press reports in this article published in the Amarillo Globe-News. Excerpt: DALLAS (AP) – This is a story about two brothers and a crime that changed their lives. One brother is serving a 30-year sentence for aggravated robbery. The other is living with the agonizing guilt that he put his younger half brother …
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blasts the FBI’s plans for more lie detector “testing” in this editorial. Excerpt: The bureau’s plan to expand the use of lie detector tests is just plain unprofessional and unscientific. The fact is, they are notoriously unreliable. Aldrich Ames, the CIA agent who in 1994 admitted to spying for Russia, passed …
Associated Press correspondent Jesse J. Holland reports. Excerpt: April 9, 2002 | WASHINGTON (AP) — While two U.S. citizens have been arrested for espionage since July, increased FBI lie detector tests have uncovered several lesser security transgressions among FBI employees, the agency’s security chief said Tuesday. None of the information gained from the 700 polygraph …
The Beauregard Daily News reports in an article titled,”La. Supreme Court upholds dismissal of policeman.” The officer’s dismissal was based in large part on polygraph “evidence.” This short article, which is no longer available on the Beauregard Daily News website, is cited in full here: The 1997 dismissal of Johnny M. Evans, Sr. from the …
The Commission for the Review of FBI Security Programs, better known as the Webster Commission, has delivered its report to the Attorney General, and it may now be downloaded as a 1.14 MB Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file from the U.S. Department of Justice website at: http://www.usdoj.gov/05publications/websterreport.pdf Substantive discussion of polygraph policy begins at p. 67 …