The US government has reportedly subjected roughly 50 members of the military’s Joint Staff to lie detector tests as investigators hunt for officials suspected of leaking classified information to journalists, including details about dwindling US ammunition supplies during the war with Iran.
Investigators questioned military officers and civilian employees about whether they had disclosed classified information to members of the press and whether they had shared information about diminished US munitions stocks, the New York Times reported.
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Leak hunt like never before
The polygraph tests were conducted in August, following a series of news reports detailing shortages of critical weapons, including long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors, the report added.
People familiar with the effort said the broad testing appeared intended not only to identify those who may have shared information but also to deter others from providing information to journalists.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials work for the Joint Staff, the body responsible for coordinating operations, policy and war plans with combatant commanders around the world.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the department “does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly.”
“Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world,” he added.
The breadth of the investigation is highly unusual. Mass polygraph testing has never been administered to the senior ranks of the US military in modern history, the report further added.
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Paranoia inside Pentagon
The investigation comes as several news organisations have published details about the impact of the Iran war on US weapons stockpiles, along with concerns within the administration over the strategic direction of the conflict.
President Trump has pushed administration officials to aggressively pursue those responsible for leaks. He has also gone beyond efforts to stop unauthorised disclosures, calling media coverage critical of the US handling of the Iran war and its weapons shortages “treasonous”.
The leak investigations have added to an atmosphere of distrust and paranoia inside the Pentagon, according to current and former officials, who say the environment has been encouraged by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Since early last year, the Pentagon has also launched several leak investigations in response to news reports about Hegseth’s leadership. This has come even as he faced criticism for sharing sensitive details about US strikes in Yemen in a Signal group last year.
Last month, the Defence Department fired the publisher and editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, a government-funded news organisation covering the US military. The journalists said they believed the dismissals were retaliation for their reporting on worsening conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Trump has continued to back Hegseth, saying he is doing a “fantastic job”, despite mounting concerns over turmoil within the Pentagon.
Republicans turn on Hegseth
Some Republicans in Congress have recently begun publicly criticising the defence secretary, accusing him of mistreating senior officials.
“I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a social media post this week. He also called on Trump to replace Hegseth.
“He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defence and the health and well-being of our fighting force,” Tillis said.
