The FBI has been using polygraphs to crack down on news leaks within the bureau and test whether senior employees have said anything negative about its director, Kash Patel, The New York Times reports.
Polygraph examinations have been traditionally used for security clearances and preemployment screening, but the technology has been used at the FBI to investigate allegations of leaks, a notable shift.
Reuters reported in late May that the Trump administration was working to expose leaks of all kinds.
“President [Donald] Trump has made it clear he will not tolerate federal government employees leaking to the fake news media. This is common sense,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Reuters at the time.
“Government employees who spend their time leaking to the media instead of doing the job American taxpayers expect should be held accountable.”
In several government agencies — including the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense — managers told employees they would have to take polygraph tests, sometimes called lie detector tests, after unclassified information was reported in the media, six of the government workers told Reuters.
The Times report said the FBI had asked senior employees whether they had said anything negative about Patel.
“An F.B.I. employee’s loyalty is to the Constitution, not to the director or deputy director,” James Davidson, a former agent who spent 23 years in the bureau, told the Times. “It says everything about Patel’s weak constitution that this is even on his radar.”
The FBI declined to comment, citing personnel matters and internal deliberations.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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