The U.S. Defense Department administered polygraph tests to about 50 members of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff to trace the source of news reports about weapons shortages that surfaced in the aftermath of the war with Iran, The New York Times reported on the 4th.
Investigators questioned the military personnel and civilian employees under scrutiny about whether they had leaked classified information to the press or passed along data on declining weapons stockpiles, according to the report. The department launched the abrupt inquiry last month after a series of reports said stocks of key U.S. weapons, including long-range missiles and Patriot air defense missiles, had run low.
The Times noted that an investigation of this scale targeting the military's top leadership has few precedents. Sources told the newspaper that the probe was intended not only to identify leakers but also to serve as a warning against further disclosures. U.S. federal and military courts as a rule do not admit polygraph results as direct evidence.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department does not comment on personnel matters or the substance of investigations, adding that leaks of classified information related to national security are treated with the utmost seriousness and are being investigated accordingly.
President Donald Trump had earlier called the reports on weapons shortages treasonous and pressed hard for the leakers to be caught. The inquiry into the Joint Chiefs is seen as a follow-up measure led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his close aides.
The Times pointed out that Hegseth himself drew criticism last year for sharing sensitive information about strikes in Yemen with officials in a group chat on the commercial messaging app Signal.
