In recent decades, federal agencies have sometimes utilized polygraph tests as part of a background check process for applicants seeking sensitive positions, but the idea of using them more broadly to crack down on media leaks is unprecedented.

At least, it was.

In the spring, MS NOW reported that FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the polygraphing of more than two dozen former and current members of his security detail, as well as other staff, as part of an apparent panic about alleged leakers among his team. There was a similar controversy late last year about the use of polygraphs at the Department of Homeland Security.

But to fully appreciate the scope of these efforts, look no further than the Pentagon. The New York Times reported:

U.S. government investigators have taken the extraordinary step of subjecting roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists, including about how the Iran war has created a shortage of crucial munitions, according to officials briefed on the move.

The investigators asked military officers and civilian employees on the Joint Staff if they disclosed classified information to members of the press, and about whether they provided information about diminished U.S. munitions stocks.

The Times’ report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, added that the polygraph tests were conducted last month in the wake of multiple reports about “diminished stocks of crucial munitions” as a result of the war with Iran. (The White House has repeatedly suggested those reports were false, though the search for leakers suggests it was the denials that were actually untrue.)

To be sure, there have been reports for months about the Defense Department utilizing polygraphs more broadly, but it’s worth appreciating just how unusual these circumstances are. Indeed, the Times explained, “The scope of the investigation is without parallel. Mass polygraph tests have never been administered to the top ranks of the U.S. military in modern history.”

The article quoted Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter, a retired top judge advocate general for the Navy, who added, “I’ve never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level. In my experience, it’s unprecedented.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had already earned a reputation for creating a culture of fear at the Pentagon. There’s fresh evidence that the hapless Cabinet secretary is making matters worse.

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