Federal investigators have taken the extraordinary step of administering polygraph tests to roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff, an inquiry examining whether officers and civilian employees leaked classified information to journalists about the war with Iran and the Pentagon’s depleted munitions stockpiles, according to officials briefed on the matter. The tests, conducted in August, represent one of the broadest and most senior-level polygraph efforts in the modern history of the U.S. armed forces.
Investigators questioned Joint Staff officers and civilian personnel on whether they had disclosed classified material to members of the press, specifically probing whether anyone had shared details about diminished stocks of long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors. The Joint Staff, which numbers between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials, coordinates operations, policy, and war planning with combatant commanders around the globe, making it one of the most sensitive nerve centers in the Defense Department.
The polygraph campaign followed a wave of news reports in the preceding weeks that detailed how the war with Iran had strained critical U.S. munitions reserves. Multiple outlets reported on the rapid depletion of some of the military’s most advanced and finite weapons systems, even as U.S. officials publicly pushed back on the reporting, insisting stockpiles remained more than adequate.
Not every senior official was subjected to testing. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was not polygraphed, a senior Pentagon official said, indicating the sweep was targeted at Joint Staff ranks below the very top of the military chain of command.
People familiar with the effort said the scale of the testing appeared designed to serve two purposes: identifying anyone who had already shared classified information, and sending an unmistakable warning to others within the Joint Staff who might consider speaking to reporters in the future. Legal and military experts have described the breadth of the campaign as without precedent.
H2: A Warning Shot Rear Adm. Guter Calls “Unprecedented”
Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter, who served as the Navy’s top judge advocate general from 2000 to 2002, said he had never seen anything comparable to the current effort. “I’ve never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level,” he said. “In my experience, it’s unprecedented.”
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declined to confirm or deny the specific polygraph program, saying 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.” He added that “securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world.”
H2: Part of a Broader Crackdown Under Hegseth
The polygraph sweep is the latest and most sweeping escalation in a leak-hunting campaign that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pursued since taking office. In July 2026, Hegseth announced the creation of a joint task force with the Justice Department dedicated to identifying and prosecuting leakers, delegating expanded authority to the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel to request and receive information across the department related to media leak investigations. “Leaked information risks lives,” Hegseth said in a video announcing the effort, adding that “these new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force.”
That announcement came days after the Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times reporters, seeking to compel their testimony before a federal grand jury over the newspaper’s reporting on security concerns tied to the Qatari-donated jet gifted to President Trump. The subpoenas drew sharp criticism from press freedom advocates, who argued the administration was attempting to intimidate journalists engaged in routine newsgathering.
The current investigation builds on a pattern established earlier in Hegseth’s tenure. In March 2025, his then-chief of staff, Joe Kasper, circulated a memo announcing that the Pentagon’s intelligence and law enforcement arms were probing “recent unauthorized disclosures” of national security information, warning that the inquiry could include polygraph testing of department employees. That earlier investigation led to the removal of three senior aides — Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll — who were placed on leave and then escorted out of the building, though no evidence has surfaced showing any of them leaked classified material.
H2: An Atmosphere of Distrust Inside the Pentagon
Current and former officials say the leak investigations have deepened a climate of suspicion and paranoia inside the Pentagon under Hegseth’s leadership. Surrounded by a tight circle of loyalists, Hegseth has pushed out or blocked the promotions of at least 80 generals, admirals, and other senior officials during his tenure, even as he separately faced scrutiny for sharing sensitive details of strikes in Yemen through a Signal messaging group.
Hegseth has not given the Pentagon press corps a formal briefing on the Iran war since May 5, and he has pursued policies restricting journalists’ access to the building — restrictions The New York Times has challenged in court. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against one such policy last month, ruling that a requirement forcing reporters to be accompanied by an official chaperone at all times violated the First Amendment.
Last month, the Defense Department fired the publisher and editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, the government-funded outlet that covers the military, in what journalists at the publication described as retaliation for its reporting on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln during its record-breaking deployment.
H2: Republican Criticism of Hegseth Grows Louder
Despite the mounting controversies, President Trump has continued to publicly stand behind his defense secretary, calling Hegseth’s performance a “fantastic job.” But some Republicans on Capitol Hill have begun openly criticizing the Pentagon chief’s leadership style and treatment of senior officers.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a social media post this week that he had “never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” calling on Trump to replace Hegseth. “He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force,” Tillis said.
Tillis’s criticism carries particular weight given his own voting history — he was among the senators who confirmed Hegseth to the role in early 2025, despite having voiced reservations about the nomination at the time.
H2: Munitions Reporting at the Center of the Storm
The reporting that triggered the latest polygraph campaign centered on the pace at which the U.S. military has expended some of its most advanced and limited-supply munitions during the Iran war, including long-range missiles and Patriot air defense interceptors. Weeks into the conflict, CBS News and other outlets reported on the rapid drawdown of these systems, prompting administration officials to insist publicly that stockpiles remained sufficient even as reporters continued to detail growing strain on supply.
Whether the polygraph tests will identify the sources behind the reporting remains unclear, and the Pentagon has not disclosed the outcomes of the examinations or whether any personnel actions have followed. But the scale of the effort — reaching deep into the ranks of one of the military’s most sensitive coordinating bodies — signals how seriously the administration has come to regard unauthorized disclosures amid a war effort already under scrutiny over munitions readiness, leadership turmoil, and press access.