Inside the Pentagon Polygraph Crackdown: Why the Trump Administration is Targeting Staff Over Weapons Leaks

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026.

In a major crackdown on information leaks, the Trump administration has ordered dozens of Pentagon officials to undergo polygraph tests amid media reports of dwindling United States weapons stockpiles in the Middle East. About 50 military officers and civilian officials working with the US military’s Joint Staff were subjected to polygraph examinations in August, The New York Times (NYT) reported. CBS News separately reported that several dozen people underwent polygraph examinations earlier in the summer, including some US Central Command (CENTCOM) officials.

As US President Donald Trump accused unknown staff of making “treasonous statements” to journalists, an ongoing investigation into information leaks also involves the Department of Justice and the FBI.

This is part of a wider investigation into suspected leaks of classified information about US weapons stockpiles to journalists after news reports emerged in July that supplies of some critical munitions, particularly long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors, were running low. The reports coincided with the US halting attacks on Iran. The Trump administration has strongly denied that it is low on weapons, saying it has “massive amounts” of weaponry available. However, investigators have asked Joint Staff personnel undergoing polygraphs whether they provided classified information to the news media, particularly about declining US munitions stocks, according to the NYT.

CBS News reported that the polygraphs covered a range of national security matters. Two sources told the broadcaster that nobody failed the questions intended to establish whether officials had leaked information to the media. The NYT reported that the investigation was intended not only to identify potential leakers but also to deter others from disclosing information in the future.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 military officers and civilian officials work for the Joint Staff, which helps coordinate military operations, policy and war planning with US combatant commands around the world. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was among senior officials who were not tested. The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed details of the polygraph tests.

“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,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.

The level of US weapons reserves available to its forces stationed in the Middle East has become an increasingly sensitive issue as the US continues strikes on Iran using sophisticated munitions that are difficult and time-consuming to replace. Iran has excelled at depleting expensive US defensive systems, such as Patriot missiles, by bombarding US targets in the Gulf with volley after volley of cheap, mass-produced Shahed drones.

For the US, information suggesting that its supplies are running low could give adversaries insight into how long Washington can sustain military operations and where its capabilities may be under strain. As well as launching sporadic strikes on targets in Iran, the US is maintaining a naval blockade on Iranian ports in and around the critical Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed to traffic in March.

President Trump has gone further in attacking the reporting by news outlets, calling accounts of dwindling stocks “treasonous statements”. He has pledged that the people behind leaks will be “hunted down” and warned they could face lengthy prison terms. Trump has also sought to reassure Americans that supplies are being replenished, writing on Truth Social last month that large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed.

The polygraph tests are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to prevent sensitive information from leaving the Pentagon. Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the department has opened multiple investigations into leaks and taken steps to limit journalists’ access to military officials and information. Current and former officials have described growing mistrust inside the Pentagon, according to the NYT. Hegseth has also overseen significant changes among the military’s senior ranks, with at least 80 generals, admirals and other officials removed or having their promotions blocked.

The Pentagon’s campaign against leaks became more formalised in July, when Hegseth created a task force with the Department of Justice to speed up investigations into unauthorised disclosures. The Pentagon’s lawyers were also given expanded authority to obtain records and seek assistance for such inquiries. Hegseth said the aim was to get information to federal law enforcement, including the FBI, more quickly when suspected leaks occurred.

“Leaked information risks lives,” he said. The polygraph operation is separate from that process, however, with military investigators carrying out those examinations without FBI involvement, according to the NYT.

At the same time, Hegseth’s relationship with journalists covering the Pentagon has become increasingly strained. He has not held a Pentagon news briefing on the Iran war since May 5 and has introduced restrictions on journalists’ access to parts of the building, which the NYT is challenging in court. The Pentagon last month also dismissed the publisher and editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, the government-funded newspaper covering the US military. Hegseth has himself faced scrutiny over the handling of sensitive military information, after details about planned US attacks in Yemen were shared last year in a Signal group that included a journalist.

The Pentagon’s latest operation follows a history of the Trump administration’s use of polygraphs in investigations into suspected leaks. One of the first examples came in March 2025, when Hegseth's chief of staff launched an inquiry into unauthorised disclosures after reporting that Elon Musk was due to receive a classified briefing about how the US military would respond to a potential conflict with China. Both Trump and Musk denied the report, with Musk dismissing it as “pure propaganda”. Lie detectors have also been deployed elsewhere in the administration, with FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly having more than two dozen current and former members of his security detail undergo polygraphs in May 2026 during an investigation into leaks from within the bureau.

While the use of lie detectors is not unusual within the US national security system, its use on this scale among senior military personnel is extraordinary. The NYT reported that nothing comparable has been carried out across the upper ranks of the US military in modern history.