Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
David Johnston writes in the New York Times: WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — Robert Philip Hanssen was never polygraphed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine whether he might be a security risk during the 15 years when, it is charged, he spied for the Soviet Union and then Russia, law enforcement officials said today. …
Washington Post staff writers David A. Vise and Dan Eggen discuss FBI security in the wake of the Hanssen spy scandal: Congressional panels, inspectors general, interagency task forces, blue-ribbon commissions and other repeatedly warned the FBI that it needed more frequent lie detector tests like those now used by the CIA… Vise and Eggen also …
In “Spy case reveals FBI failings,” Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz discusses the use of polygraph screening by the FBI and other agencies. Mr. Gertz seems to equate polygraphs with security, opening his article, “The arrest of Robert P. Hanssen on charges he spied for Moscow has exposed weaknesses in FBI internal security, including document-handling …
In an article entitled “Invisible on the Inside,” Walter Pincus and Vernon Loeb of the Washington Post report that the FBI may consider expanding its polygraph program to include random “testing” of personnel in the wake of the Robert P. Hanssen espionage case, and reveal that a plan has been on the shelf for three …
In a knee-jerk reacton to the Hanssen case, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has called for increased use of polygraph screening at the FBI. In an article titled “Russian Spy Case Worries Congress,” Carol Skorneck of the Associated Press writes: WASHINGTON (AP) – The arrest of a veteran FBI agent on …
In an article entitled “Lab Security Measures Shelved Pending Study,” Washington Post staff writer Walter Pincus suggests that expanded polygraph screening has been suspended pending a review. Excerpt: In his last days in office, former energy secretary Bill Richardson temporarily suspended a series of measures that had been taken over the past two years to …
In a press release occasioned by the commencement of the National Academy of Sciences’ polygraph review, Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) expresses his concerns about the Department of Energy’s use of polygraphs: “I hope the work of this committee, backed by the NAS, will give us an objective analysis of polygraphs, and help determine the necessity …
Steven Aftergood reports in today’s edition of the electronic newsletter Secrecy News: NATIONAL ACADEMY BEGINS POLYGRAPH STUDY The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences is undertaking a new review of the validity and reliability of the polygraph, or “lie detector.” The 18 month review, which was proposed by Sen. Jeff Bingaman and …
Dave Marash reports for ABC Nightline on the security crackdown at Los Alamos National Laboratory, including the new DOE polygraph screening program. Excerpt: JOHN BROWN, DIRECTOR, LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LAB The–the polygraph issue is a real challenge for a scientific culture like ours. DAVE MARASH (VO) Los Alamos lab director John Brown doesn’t hide his …
A press release from Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). Excerpt: Bingaman first suggested a comprehensive review of the science behind polygraphs last year when he opposed DOE’s plans for expanded polygraph testing of its employees. In October 1999, Bingaman proposed and won Congressional approval of an amendment to a key appropriations bill calling for the National …