White House intervenes to end Pete Hegseth’s routine use of polygraph tests on his own staff

WASHINGTON, DC: The White House intervened to put an end to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s routine use of polygraph tests on his staff, which intensified in March right before the "Signalgate" scandal, as reported by The Washington Post.

A top aide to Hegseth complained to the White House that he could end up taking a lie detector test as the defense secretary's move to stamp out the Pentagon media leaks intensified. 

White House informs Pete Hegseth's team to end use of polygraph tests following senior adviser Patrick Weaver's complaint

In April, Patrick Weaver, a senior adviser, was offended by the suggestion that he should have to submit to testing being carried out on those close to the defense secretary.

Meanwhile, an ally of President Donald Trump and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Weaver’s complaint led to a phone call from the White House to Hegseth's team informing them to end the use of polygraph tests.

In March, Hegseth and other top Trump administration officials shared operational plans for a US airstrike on Houthi targets in Yemen via the Signal messaging app.

The exchange, which had precise timing, weapon types, and sequencing information, was shared right before the operation took place on March 15. 

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was accidentally added to the group chat through an invitation by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, which Goldberg disclosed in a March 24 article in The Atlantic. This came to be known as "Signalgate."

Right before the high-profile incident, Hegseth intensified a campaign to identify leaks, which included polygraph tests on Pentagon staff, Special Ops personnel, and FBI-linked individuals.

Polygraph tests involve tracking heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and skin conductivity while subjects respond to questioning to detect deception.

Sources informed The Washington Post that multiple polygraph tests were carried out over several weeks.

Reports claim senior department officials circulated letters calling for Pete Hegseth's removal

The news of the White House's intervention in the polygraph tests follows reports that senior department officials have been circulating letters calling for Pete Hegseth’s removal.

A staff member described the gist of the letter to the Daily Mail and stated, "The American public knows this guy has no clue what he’s doing."

Complaints in the department relate to Hegseth’s deployment of the National Guard in California during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests in June.

Moreover, staff are allegedly frustrated by his installation of a makeup studio at defense headquarters and his insistence on clicking workout photos alongside troops.

Internet divided as White House stops Pete Hegseth's use of polygraph tests

Many internet users stayed divided and shared mixed reactions as the White House intervened to put an end to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s routine use of polygraph tests on his staff.

An X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, "When loyalty tests replace leadership, trust becomes collateral damage. Polygraphs won’t stop leaks - they just expose the fear behind the curtain," while another added, "Using polygraphs to root out leaks? That’s a dangerous precedent. Glad the White House stepped in."

A person expressed, "Serious move—using polygraphs to track leaks raises big questions about transparency and internal trust. White House stepping in shows how sensitive this issue really is," while someone else mentioned, "Shouldn't have been using them in the first place."

One who agreed with Hegseth wrote, "Pete had a great idea," while another said, "Hegseth being forced to stop polygraphing because senior officials don't want to be tested is proof that the swamp will protect their own."

"These People are sinister and corrupt," an individual bluntly stated, with another writing, "Like usual, it’s not that it was wrong, in itself. It’s that they went after one of the wrong people — someone in the Trump regime."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.