WASHINGTON — The Pentagon subjected roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff — military officers and civilians — to polygraph examinations in August as part of a leak investigation tied to media reporting on depleted munitions stockpiles during the war with Iran, according to reporting by The New York Times first published Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, and followed Saturday by Al Jazeera and CBS News.

The inquiry focused on whether personnel disclosed classified details to reporters, particularly about dwindling supplies of long-range missiles and Patriot air-defense interceptors, Al Jazeera reported citing the Times. U.S. officials had pushed back on those shortage stories, insisting stockpiles remained sufficient. CBS News, citing officials briefed on the matter, said several dozen people were tested earlier this summer, including some U.S. Central Command officials and other combatant commanders, and that the mass volume of testing was extremely rare even though polygraphs are routine for many clearances.

President Donald Trump was furious about the leaks, three sources told CBS News. Trump has publicly branded critical media coverage of munition shortages and the administration’s handling of the Iran conflict as “treasonous,” Al Jazeera reported. One CBS source said access to the classified munitions details was tightly held and there was concern about whether anyone could potentially be acting as a foreign intelligence asset.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CBS News on Friday night: “The Department does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly. Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world.” Al Jazeera reported a similar statement from Parnell to the Times.

Not every senior official was wired up. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine was not polygraphed, a senior Pentagon official told CBS News. Two CBS sources said no one failed the questions meant to determine whether officials leaked to the media. The FBI was not involved in these polygraph tests, several people with direct knowledge told CBS; the military has its own investigators.

Legal and military experts told the Times the scale of testing among senior ranks is unprecedented in modern history, Al Jazeera reported. Sources familiar with the inquiry said the aggressive push was meant both to identify leakers and to deter future unauthorized disclosures. The Joint Staff, which Al Jazeera placed at roughly 1,500 to 2,000 military and civilian personnel, coordinates operational strategy, policy, and war planning with combatant commands.

The polygraphs land inside a broader crackdown. In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a joint Pentagon–Justice Department task force to identify and prosecute suspected leakers, expanding an effort that began in his office. Hegseth gave the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel broad authority to demand records and assistance, with personnel told to prioritize responses within two days. “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 when he announced the task force, according to CBS. He added: “Leaked information risks lives.”

That posture is not new for Hegseth. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that after details of a planned classified China briefing for Elon Musk leaked, Hegseth yelled at then-acting Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Christopher Grady, “I’ll hook you up to a f—ing polygraph!” Grady was never polygraphed, the Journal reported; CBS recounted that history in its Friday-night story.

Federal law and Pentagon regulations impose consent and procedural limits on polygraph use even when a defense secretary can direct counterintelligence investigations that include them, CBS noted. Sweeping lie-detector pressure on the Joint Staff over press reporting nonetheless concentrates executive power against the press’s ability to surface how a shooting war is burning through finite munitions — classified or not, that is the tension the administration is choosing to escalate.

Sources