‘Trump Furious About Leaks’: US Orders Polygraph Tests for Top Officials, Reports
The Pentagon has subjected around 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests as part of an expanding investigation into leaks of sensitive information to the media, according to reports published this week. The inquiry is focused particularly on disclosures concerning U.S. weapons stockpiles during the ongoing conflict with Iran.
The tests reportedly involved senior military and civilian personnel and were carried out in August. Investigators were seeking to determine whether officials had provided classified information to journalists about shortages involving long-range missiles and Patriot air-defense interceptors.
The leak investigation comes as President Donald Trump and senior Pentagon officials have expressed growing concern about the disclosure of information that could reveal weaknesses in U.S. military readiness. Reports about depleted weapons stocks have drawn particular attention inside the administration.
According to officials cited in the reports, none of the personnel tested failed the questions specifically aimed at determining whether they had leaked information to the media. Investigators have nevertheless continued examining how sensitive information reached journalists and whether a foreign intelligence connection could be involved.
The scope of the polygraph operation is unusual because it reportedly reached senior officials who have access to highly classified military information. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine was reportedly not among those subjected to the tests.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has declined to discuss individual personnel or the details of the investigation. He has said the Defense Department takes unauthorized disclosures of classified national-security information seriously and is working to protect sensitive information and U.S. troops.
The polygraph effort is part of a broader Pentagon crackdown on the flow of classified information. The Washington Post reported that the department recently removed decades of classified documents connected to the Secretary of Defense Orders Book from an internal SIPRNet portal after reports revealed concerns among senior military officers over the Iran war.
Those documents contain information about military units, weapons systems, warships and other resources. Their removal has raised questions about how access to classified information is being restricted while the United States remains engaged in major military operations.
The Trump administration has previously faced controversy over the use of polygraphs in leak investigations. The latest Pentagon operation, however, represents a particularly broad effort to identify the source of disclosures involving U.S. military capabilities and weapons availability.
With the Iran conflict continuing to place pressure on American military resources, the administration appears determined to tighten control over classified information and prevent further leaks from reaching the media.
