FBI starts using polygraph tests in internal leak investigations

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is displayed on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2022. Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images/File via CNN Newsource

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has started using polygraph tests to aid investigations aimed at identifying the source of leaks emanating from within the law enforcement agency.

“We can confirm the FBI has begun administering polygraph tests to identify the source of information leaks within the bureau,” the bureau’s public affairs office told Reuters in a statement.

The Washington Post was the first to report the FBI’s use of polygraphs, which are commonly known as “lie detector” tests.

Republican President Donald Trump’s administration has been cracking down on people who leak information to journalists since he returned to office in January.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department made it easier for prosecutors investigating leaks to the news media to subpoena records and testimony from journalists.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned of possible prosecutions of former senior advisors who were fired during a probe into leaks of Pentagon information to the media, saying evidence would be handed over to the Department of Justice once the investigation is completed. Hegseth’s memo requesting the investigation left open raised the possibility of using polygraphs.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard pledged in March to “aggressively pursuing recent leakers” in order to hold them accountable for unauthorized disclosures.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)