This Albuquerque Tribune editorial minces no words in its criticism of the Department of Energy’s polygraph screening program. Excerpt: “Deception” is a nasty, nine-letter word that preoccupies U.S. counterintelligence agents. Appropriately, they worry about the potential for moles and leaks of nuclear weapons secrets from the nation’s classified bulwarks, including Sandia and Los Alamos national … Read more
Albuquerque Journal staff writer John Fleck reports. Excerpt: The Department of Energy has halted a controversial policy of asking medical questions of nuclear weapons scientists as part of its spy-hunting polygraph tests. Instead of asking medically related questions, the department’s new policy now places the burden on workers being polygraphed, requiring them to reveal before … Read more
Steven Aftergood of the American Federation of Scientists’ Secrecy in Government Project writes in today’s edition of Secrecy News: DEALING WITH POLYGRAPH TESTING Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are organizing to defend their legal rights in the face of new Department of Energy polygraph testing requirements. The Society of Professional Scientists and Engineers (SPSE), … Read more
In an article entitled “To Tell The Truth,” US News and World Report writers Kevin Whitelaw and David E. Kaplan put forth informed commentary on the dangers of security vetting by polygraph. Excerpt: … The task [of finding moles in the CIA] fell to [Edward] Curran, who sensed the nation’s premier spy agency was consumed … Read more
In an article ironically titled “Americans See Through Blind Eyes,” Toby Westerman of WorldNetDaily reports on Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies dean David Major’s call for expanded polygraph screening. Excerpt: Polygraph examinations – lie detector tests – should be given to all U.S. government personnel having access to secret information in order to prevent … Read more
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing today on “Issues Surrounding the Use of Polygraphs.” The five witnesses who were invited to testify are former DoDPI director Michael H. Capps, Professor William G. Iacono of the University of Minnesota, former CIA general counsel Jeffrey H. Smith, attorney Mark S. Zaid, and past American … Read more
Associated Press correspondent Jesse J. Holland reports on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s 25 April hearing on “Issues Surrounding the Use of Polygraphs.” Note that the only scientific expert among the witnesses who spoke was Professor William G. Iacono. Excerpt: WASHINGTON (AP) – The FBI might have started earlier to investigate Robert Hanssen, the … Read more
On Wednesday, 25 April 2001, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, chaired by Employee Polygraph Protection Act co-sponsor Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), will hold an open hearing beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Building. If you have information about which the committee should be made aware, contact the committee at … Read more
Ha’aretz police correspondent Nicole Krau reports that police in Israel are seeking to conduct regular polygraph screening. Excerpt: The heads of the Israel Police are planning to ask a ministerial committee for a green light to conduct regular polygraph tests on their officers, as is routine in the case of security officials, Major General Moshe … Read more
The Associated Press reports. Excerpt: WASHINGTON (AP) – FBI Director Louis Freeh and his senior deputies will take lie-detector tests as part of stepped-up security procedures following the arrest of a veteran FBI agent charged with spying for Moscow over a period of 15 years. “The director always includes himself in whatever policy applies to … Read more