As The Washington Post reported, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his team have been ordered to cease polygraphs to stop leaks to the corporate media after an adviser complained to the White House.
The adviser in question, Patrick Weaver, complained to White House officials this spring that he was worried about being directed by Hegseth or another member of his team to submit to a polygraph test. Hegseth’s team started administering polygraph tests to people around the defense secretary in April.
The White House then intervened to stop the practice via a phone call by an individual close to the administration. The Post refused to name this person.
The Washington Post reported:
The White House intervention, which has not previously been reported, came in the form of a phone call by an individual close to the administration after Hegseth’s team had begun administering polygraph tests to people around the defense secretary in April, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to identify the individual.
Before they were stopped, multiple tests were carried out over several weeks with approval by Hegseth and advice from Tim Parlatore, who has served as both Hegseth’s private attorney and a part-time military aide on his staff.
Weaver had previously served as a Republican congressional staff member and as an aide in the first Trump administration on the White House’s National Security Council and in the Department of Homeland Security. He remains an adviser to Hegseth.
By the time he approached the White House, polygraph tests already had been administered to members of the Joint Service Interagency Advisory Group (JSIAG), a team in Hegseth’s front office that was assembled to examine how to counter drug cartels and enhance security on the southern border, people familiar with the matter said.
The Washington Post notes that Weaver is considered a loyalist to Trump and is an associate of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
Weaver is also a hardliner on immigration.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell responded to the report with anger.
“The Department will not comment on an ongoing investigation,” Parnell said in a written statement. “The Fake News Media’s obsession with months old workplace gossip is a reflection of the sad and pathetic state of ‘journalism’ in Washington.”
Hegseth ousted three aides for leaking back in April. These aides were Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll.
Despite Hegseth’s actions, the leaks have continued.
As The Gateway Pundit’s Cassandra MacDonald previously reported, the Pentagon announced an investigation back in March into recent “unauthorized disclosures” of national security information, which may include the use of polygraph tests on Department of Defense personnel.
Hegseth’s then-chief of staff, Joe Kasper, sent a memo to DOD staff letting them know that they may be subject to lie detector tests.
“Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) demand immediate and thorough investigation,” the memo read, according to a report from The Hill.
“I request the prompt assistance of your Director for Defense Intelligence (Counterintelligence, Law Enforcement, and Security) to support OSD in leading an investigation into unauthorized disclosures in coordination with the appropriate Department of Defense (DoD) stakeholders, including those responsible for maintaining and overseeing information security systems and in coordination with federal partners as required,” the memo continued.
The announcement’s timing prompted speculation that it may be about a New York Times report that Elon Musk was slated to receive a briefing on U.S. military strategies for a hypothetical war with China during a visit to the Pentagon.
Musk and President Donald Trump both claimed that the report was false. The X owner said it was “pure propaganda” and called for prosecuting those leaking “maliciously false information” to the media.
Other members of the Trump Administration have used polygraphs to hunt down leakers to the press, including FBI Director Kash Patel.
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