Overview
- Investigators subjected roughly 50 Joint Staff military and civilian personnel to polygraph examinations in August to determine whether they had disclosed classified details about U.S. munitions shortages to reporters.
- The exams were carried out by military investigators without FBI involvement, senior leaders such as Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Dan Caine were not tested, and CBS reported that no one failed the leak-specific questions.
- The polygraphs follow July's creation of a DoD–DOJ task force to identify and prosecute suspected leakers and were described by officials as intended both to find sources and to deter further disclosures.
- Legal and military experts called the scale of testing at senior ranks highly unusual, and the Pentagon declined to discuss investigative or personnel specifics while stressing it treats classified leaks seriously.
- President Trump has publicly denounced the reporting as 'treasonous' and vowed to pursue leakers, a posture that critics say has increased distrust inside the Pentagon and could further restrict journalists' access and staff morale.