Pete Hegseth has begun Pentagon polygraph screening for military officials, putting about 50 military officers and civilian officials through tests as he hunts for leakers inside the Pentagon. The effort is described as unprecedented in its breadth and comes after he tightened access to reporters and stopped holding Pentagon news briefings on the war since early May.
Pete Hegseth and Christopher Grady
Last year, Hegseth reportedly shouted at Christopher Grady, then acting joint chiefs chairman, after press leaks about plans to give Elon Musk a Pentagon briefing on China. He told Grady, "I’ll hook you up to a f---ing polygraph!"
Trump's leak hunt
Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that "The “leakers” of these treasonous statements are being hunted down!" He added, "Long term jail sentences will be sought!" The statements put the leak fight in public view while Hegseth moved to widen screening inside the Pentagon.
Pentagon access limits
Hegseth has also restricted reporters' access at the Pentagon, fired journalists at Stars and Stripes, and installed influencers to spread pro-Trump propaganda. Together with the polygraph drive, those steps show a tighter control over who gets information and who can reach it.
For military officers and civilian officials now inside the screening pool, the practical effect is simple: they face a leak inquiry that reaches far beyond one office or one incident. The unanswered point is which leak or leaks triggered the tests, leaving the scope of the hunt wider than the public record explains.
