Some of America’s highest-ranking military officials were subjected to polygraph examinations during a sweeping Pentagon investigation into the leaking of highly classified information about the nation’s weapons stockpiles.
President Donald Trump was reportedly furious after sensitive details concerning America’s supply of sophisticated weapons appeared in media reports.
According to leftist CBS News, several dozen officials were questioned earlier this summer, including officials assigned to U.S. Central Command and other combatant commands.
The scale of the polygraph operation was described as extraordinarily rare.
Although high-ranking military and civilian officials with access to top-secret information routinely undergo periodic polygraph examinations, sources told CBS that the large number of officials summoned at once indicated that investigators were conducting a targeted leak probe.
The questioning reportedly covered a range of national-security matters, including whether officials had provided sensitive military information to members of the media.
Two sources claimed that none of the officials failed the questions specifically designed to identify the leaker.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine was reportedly not among those polygraphed.
The New York Times first reported the broader hunt, saying investigators put roughly 50 members of the Joint Staff through polygraphs in August after a wave of stories about depleted stocks of long-range missiles, Patriot interceptors, and other finite munitions as the United States fights Iran.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told CBS Friday night 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,” Parnell said.
Hellbound and Down 