50 US Joint Staff officials face polygraph testsUS government investigators subjected roughly 50 members of the Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists.

Polygraphs are routinely used every few years to recertify security clearances for officials with access to top-secret information or special access programmes.

” The questions reportedly covered a range of national security matters.

President Donald Trump was furious about the leaks, according to three CBS News sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Not all senior officials were tested. A senior Pentagon official told CBS News that chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.

The scope of the testing comes after defence secretary Pete Hegseth announced in July that the Pentagon and Justice Department had formed a joint task force to identify and prosecute suspected leakers. “When a leak of department information occurs today, it's critical that we provide the Department of Justice and other partners in federal law enforcement — including the FBI — with actionable information as quickly as possible,” Hegseth said.