House Intelligence Committee Democrats Seem to Believe in the Polygraph

In a 10 June 2026 letter to President Trump, Democratic members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) criticized his decision to appoint Bill Pulte as Acting Director of Intelligence. They urged him to “rescind his appointment immediately,” admonishing (emphasis added): However, if you insist on moving forward with this appointment with all … Read more

Senator Warner on Polygraph Screening for Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte

On Sunday, 7 June 2026, on CNN’s State of the Union weekly program, Dana Bash interviewed U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) about President Trump’s appointment of William J. “Bill” Pulte to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence, replacing DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who announced in May that she … Read more

Costa Rican President Laura Fernández Delgado Orders Officials to Submit to Polygraph Screening

The English-language Costa Rican newspaper Tico Times reports that the country’s new president, Laura Fernández Delgado, who was inaugurated on 8 May 2026, has ordered polygraph screening of senior government officials in an attempt to root out organized crime. Excerpt: President Laura Fernández has widened a controversial order requiring polygraph tests for officials involved in … Read more

Alternatives to the Polygraph?

Science journalist Sarah Scoles reports for the digital magazine Undark on the shortcomings of polygraphy and explores proposed alternative methods of lie detection based on eye movement, electroencepholography (EEG), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). AntiPolygraph.org co-founder George Maschke is among those interviewed for this article.

Omaha Police Department Scraps Polygraph Screening

On 20 February 2026, Mike McKnight reported for WOWT that the Omaha Police Department has eliminated its requirement that applicants submit to polygraph screening. This short article is cited here in full: OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The Omaha Police Department has eliminated one of its requirements for hiring new recruits — the polygraph test, commonly … Read more

DNI Tulsi Gabbard Ordered Feasibility Review of Random Polygraph Screening

CBS News national security coordinating producer James LaPorta reports in an article titled, “DNI Tulsi Gabbard orders U.S. intel agency leaders to stem leaks.” Excerpt: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in the last month issued a memo ordering U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct a review of whether random polygraph examinations of their employees or … Read more

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s Anti-Leak Polygraph Directive Disclosed

On 18 February 2025, Bloomberg Government reporter Ellen M. Gilmer broke the news that U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had a week earlier “issued an internal directive that all polygraphs the Department of Homeland Security administers must include a question about unauthorized communications with media and nonprofit organizations, according to a memo … Read more

Pentagon Plans Random Polygraphs for Leakers

Alex Horton, Tara Copp, and Ellen Nakashima report for the Washington Post in a 1 October 2025 article titled, “Pentagon plans widespread random polygraphs, NDAs to stanch leaks.” Excerpt: The Pentagon plans to impose strict nondisclosure agreements andrandom polygraph testing for scores of people in its headquarters, including many top officials, according to two people … Read more

Number of Federal Polygraph Operators Reportedly Down About 30%

Marko Hakamaa reports for SecurityClearanceJobsBlog.com in a post titled, “Polygraph Timelines Affected by DRP and Retirements.” Excerpt: Previously, polygraphs were already the part of getting security clearance eligibility that took the longest with the Intelligence Community agencies. This was due to polygraph examiner shortages and scheduling backlogs which included having to test some individuals multiple … Read more

White House Reportedly Directed Department of Defense to Stop Polygraphing for Journalistic Sources

The White House has reportedly directed the Department of Defense to stop polygraphing for leakers after Patrick Reed Weaver, a senior advisor to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, raised concerns. Dan Lamothe and Ellen Nakashima report for the Washington Post in an article titled, “Hegseth team told to stop polygraph tests after complaint to White … Read more