Defense Department personnel could be subject to a lie detector test as part of the Pentagon’s recently announced crackdown on “unauthorized disclosures of national security information.”
In a memo released Friday, Joe Kasper, chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, directed the director for Defense Intelligence (Counterintelligence, Law Enforcement, and Security) to investigate unauthorized disclosures of sensitive and classified information throughout the Defense Department.
The memo provided no details about the alleged leaks from the Pentagon.
“This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense,” Mr. Kasper wrote. “The report will include a complete record of unauthorized disclosures within the Department of Defense and recommendations to improve such efforts.”
The use of a polygraph test in the investigation will be done “in accordance with applicable law and policy,” the memo stated.
Mr. Kasper said he wanted to be immediately informed if the inquiry identified a suspected leaker. The information would then be referred to law enforcement for possible criminal prosecution.
The Pentagon announced the crackdown the same day the Justice Department confirmed an investigation into the leak of “inaccurate, but nevertheless classified” intelligence information about Tren de Aragua, a transnational narcoterrorist and criminal organization from Venezuela.
“We will not tolerate politically-motivated efforts by the Deep State to undercut President Trump’s agenda by leaking false information onto the pages of their allies at the New York Times,” Deputy Attorney General Tod Blanche said in a statement.
In January, the Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization.
