According to a report by the American CBS network on September 5th, under the furious pressure from Trump, the Pentagon conducted a rare centralized lie detector test involving dozens of senior officers and military commanders. The aim was to uncover individuals within the military who had leaked highly confidential information about ammunition to the media.
Reports indicate that several informed U.S. officials revealed that the investigation stemmed from a series of media reports during Iran’s war in May and June this year. At that time, several media outlets disclosed that some advanced American interceptor missiles and precision-guided weapons were being depleted at a rate far exceeding expectations, involving highly sensitive ammunition inventory data for the United States.
Three anonymous sources said that Trump was “extremely angry” over the leak. Since only a few people had access to the relevant inventory data, investigators initially suspected that the leaker might have become an “intelligence asset” for foreign intelligence agencies.
According to informed officials, lie detector tests are a routine procedure for reviewing the security of senior military officers and civilian officials. However, conducting lie detector tests on a large number of high-ranking personnel at once, as in this case, is extremely rare.
Earlier this summer, dozens of people were tested, including officials from the U.S. Central Command and senior commanders from several other combat zones.
Sources revealed that the lie detector issue involves several national security issues. Among them, the part dedicated to determining whether there was any information leaked to the media did not result in anyone failing the test.
Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Sean Penney stated in a statement to CBS on the evening of the 5th: The Department of Defense will not comment on internal personnel matters or investigation matters. However, it takes the matter of any leakage of classified national security information seriously and will carry out investigations in accordance with the law. Protecting classified information is crucial for maintaining the security of the United States and its military forces deployed worldwide.
However, not all senior generals participated in the lie detection process. A senior Pentagon official stated that General Dan Kane, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not take part in the tests.
According to reports, during the several weeks of the war in Iran, many American media outlets reported that some of the most advanced and limited interceptor missiles and precision-guided weapons used by the US military were being depleted at a rapid pace. These reports shed light on the status of the US’s sensitive military assets, and they also became an important background to this investigation.
In July this year, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon and the Department of Justice have established a joint task force to investigate and prosecute individuals suspected of leaking sensitive government information to the media. This significantly expanded the scope of the investigation, which was previously limited to within his office.
Hageth authorized the Office of the General Counsel at the Pentagon under the leadership of Earl Matthews. The office was instructed to provide the necessary information, records, and assistance for the investigation, and required relevant personnel to complete their responses within two days.
Hagness said that once a breach of confidentiality occurs, we must provide actionable information to the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement partners—including the FBI—as soon as possible.
He stressed, “The leaked information may endanger life.”
However, several people familiar with the matter told CBS that the FBI was not involved in this lie detector test. The entire operation was carried out by the military's own counter-intelligence investigation system.
Not long after this action was launched, the U.S. Department of Justice summoned several journalists from The New York Times, demanding that they testify regarding reports of safety vulnerabilities in Trump’s newly received “Air Force One” aircraft gifted by Qatar, and demanded the submission of phone records.
But later, the Department of Justice revoked the subpoenas related to grand jury testimony and communication records. Previously, a federal district judge harshly questioned the prosecutor during the trial about why reporters were summoned first, without completing other investigative steps.
Reports indicate that this is not the first time Haggess has gone to court due to leaks from within the Pentagon.
According to previous reports by The Wall Street Journal, in March 2025, Hagersey became furious after a Pentagon briefing containing classified information about China was leaked, and it was intended to be presented to Elon Musk.
Reports say that before Admiral Christopher Graydy, who was the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, Hagee demanded that Graydy prove that he was not the leak. Hagee shouted, “I’m going to put you on a lie detector!”
Ultimately, Grady did not accept the lie detector test. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that Haggess also accused other senior officers, including Major General Doug Sims, who was then the director of Joint Staff, of leaking information, and threatened them with lie detector tests as well.
According to U.S. federal law, the Secretary of Defense indeed has the authority to initiate counterintelligence investigations that include lie detector tests. However, the law also stipulates that consent from the individual must be obtained before using lie detector tests. The Department of Defense is required to ensure that such measures are carried out in a responsible and effective manner, and to report on their use to Congress regularly.
