White House reportedly halts Pentagon’s lie detector tests after complaint

The White House allegedly ordered a halt to Pentagon lie detector tests after claims they targeted top officials.

The White House has reportedly intervened to suspend the use of lie detector (polygraph) tests at the U.S. Department of Defense after concerns were raised that senior officials were being unfairly targeted.

According to The Washington Post, unnamed sources said the tests were initially introduced with the approval of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to deter unauthorised disclosures to the media. However, the practice faced internal backlash when Patrick Weaver, one of Hegseth’s senior advisers, reportedly voiced concern about being subjected to a test himself.

Officials said Weaver complained directly to the White House, alleging that the polygraph programme was being misused to single out high-level staff. A source close to President Donald Trump's administration allegedly made a phone call to intervene, leading to an order halting the tests.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

Polygraph tests, commonly referred to as “lie detectors,” measure physiological data such as heart rate and blood pressure in an attempt to assess truthfulness.

On 23 March, Hegseth’s chief of staff Joe Kasper announced an internal probe into leaks and said polygraph tests would be used in accordance with legal standards. He warned that any individual found to have breached disclosure rules could face criminal prosecution.

In April, multiple senior staff—including senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and deputy defence secretary aide Colin Carroll—were dismissed as part of the leak investigations.

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