Who leaked America's weapons secrets? Pentagon subjects top military officials to polygraphs

Dozens of senior US military officials were subjected to polygraph tests in a sweeping investigation into media leaks involving classified information on America's stockpiles of advanced weapons.

Some of the highest-ranking officers in the US military were subjected to polygraph tests as the Pentagon launched an unusually broad hunt for the source of sensitive leaks concerning America's stockpiles of advanced weapons.

Pentagon puts top military officials through polygraph tests over weapon leaks

Several dozen senior military officials underwent the tests earlier this summer after classified details about the country's supplies of sophisticated munitions appeared in media reports, according to US officials briefed on the investigation. The scale of the inquiry was highly unusual.

Polygraph examinations are not uncommon for senior military and civilian officials with access to classified material. But officials told CBS News that the number of people pulled into the latest investigation was rare, reflecting the Pentagon's concern about the sensitivity of the information that had reached the media.

The investigation focused on reports detailing the pace at which the US was using some of its most advanced and finite weapons during the Iran war. The disclosures raised questions about the state of American munitions stockpiles at a time of sustained military operations and placed potentially sensitive information about US capabilities in the public domain.

Dozens questioned, no reported failures

The tests reportedly covered several dozen officials, including personnel connected to US Central Command and other combatant commands.

According to sources cited by CBS News, the questions went beyond a narrow examination of one alleged disclosure and covered a range of national-security matters. Crucially, none of the officials was reported to have failed the questions specifically intended to establish whether they had leaked information to the media.

The probe nevertheless underscored the level of anxiety surrounding the leaks.

Only a limited group of people had access to some of the classified information concerning the weapons stockpiles, one source told CBS News. Investigators were sufficiently concerned to consider whether an individual with access to the material could potentially be acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.

Donald Trump was said to be furious about the disclosures, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Pentagon says leaks are taken seriously

The Pentagon has not commented on the identities of those examined or the precise details of the investigation.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said the department did not discuss internal personnel or investigative matters but stressed that leaks of classified national-security information were treated with the utmost seriousness.

“Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world,” Parnell said in a statement to CBS News.

Not every senior military leader was subjected to a polygraph. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Dan Caine, for instance, was not tested, according to a senior Pentagon official

A wider crackdown on leaks

The polygraph operation comes as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has intensified efforts to identify and prosecute those responsible for unauthorised disclosures.

In July, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon and the Justice Department had established a joint task force to investigate suspected leaks of sensitive government information to the press, broadening an effort that had initially begun within the Defence Secretary's own office.

Reports citing officials briefed on the inquiry said roughly 50 members of the Joint Staff were among those subjected to questioning and polygraph examinations. The investigation was linked to reporting on dwindling supplies of key munitions during the conflict with Iran.

The episode has placed an extraordinary spotlight on the Pentagon's senior ranks.

For the Trump administration, the concern is twofold: identifying who disclosed the information and preventing further revelations about the country's military capabilities.

Yet with no reported failures on the leak-related questions, the broad search for answers appears, for now, to have produced more uncertainty than a culprit.

The Pentagon's investigation remains ongoing.

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