March 22 (UPI) – The Pentagon is looking into leaks of national security information, including polygraph tests, one day after media reports of an upcoming briefing with White House senior adviser Elon Musk.
Joe Kasper, the Defense Department’s chief of staff, issued a memo on Friday stating that “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense demand an immediate and thorough investigation.”
According to him, the “use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy.”
Polygraph tests are generally not admissible in court, but they are used by federal law enforcement agencies and for national security clearance.
In a 1999 report, the Pentagon stated that it was expanding a program to conduct polygraph tests on military, defense personnel, and contractors “if classified information they had access to has been leaked.”
“We believe this will serve as a deterrent to individuals who may be considering leaking classified information” according to the report.
The investigation will culminate in a report for the agency.
“If this effort results in information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure, and that such information will be referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement entity for criminal prosecution,” according to Kasper.
He stated that Defense Intelligence will assist the Office of the Secretary of Defense in leading an investigation into unauthorized disclosures, in collaboration with the appropriate Department of Defense officials and federal partners.
On Friday, President Donald Trump denied reports that Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, would be briefed on how the US would fight a hypothetical war with China.
Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth described his meeting with Musk as “a great, informal conversation.”
“The rest of the reporting was fabricated. There were no war plans, and no Chinese war plans. “There were no secret plans,” Hegseth explained.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Friday that the Justice Department is “opening a criminal investigation relating to the selective leak of inaccurate, but nonetheless classified, information from the Intelligence Community regarding Tren de Aragua.”
“We will not tolerate politically motivated efforts by the Deep State to undermine President Trump’s agenda by leaking false information to their ally, the New York Times. The Alien Enemies Proclamation is based on fact, law, and common sense, which we will establish in court before expelling TDA terrorists from the country,” Blanche stated.
Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang whose members in the United States have been targeted for removal by the Trump administration.
Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised to increase lie detector tests for employees who may be leaking information about operations to the media.
“We have identified two leakers of information here at the Department of Homeland Security who have been telling individuals about our operations and putting law enforcement lives in jeopardy,” Noem said in a video that was released on March 7. “We plan to prosecute these two individuals and hold them accountable for what they’ve done.”
