Following an investigation into potential leaks within the Department of Defense, the White House has ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discontinue the use of polygraph tests to identify leakers. According to a report, a current adviser to Hegseth, Patrick Weaver, raised concerns with senior administration officials about the potential need for a polygraph test, leading to the decision to halt the lie detector tests. The probe began in late March, initiated by Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff, who emphasized the need for a thorough investigation into unauthorized disclosures of national security information.
The move comes amid a series of controversies at the Pentagon, including the recent ‘Signalgate’ scandal. This incident involved the accidental leak of discussions about military action between Hegseth and top Trump officials, conducted on the encrypted Signal app. Then-National Security Advisor Michael Waltz took full responsibility for the misstep, which included the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on the Signal chat alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Hegseth. In the aftermath of the leak about impending U.S. military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Trump has remained firmly in Hegseth’s corner, offering public support. The White House and the Pentagon have not yet provided comment on the matter.