Trump to hit thousands of Pentagon staff with polygraphs in hunt for leaks: report

President Donald Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth didn't mention it in their speeches before the generals, but thousands of military personnel will soon be required to take random polygraphs.

The Washington Post cited two sources in a Wednesday report saying the Pentagon "plans to impose strict nondisclosure agreements and random polygraph testing for scores of people in its headquarters, including many top officials."

The move comes after information about Hegseth's flubs and gaffes became public.

Most notably, however, is the leak caused by a Trump official accidentally adding a reporter to a Signal chat in which top Cabinet members and appointees discussed a classified military strike on the app. Another Signal chat was revealed a month later, showing he had revealed classified information to family members, said the reports.

Just this week, Hegseth's own staff revealed that he has been known to have "manic" meltdowns while serving in his post. He was also exposed for demanding the speech with generals so he could film a propaganda video of himself, the Daily Beast reported.

A memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg was sent to more than 5,000 people who will be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement, the Post said. A draft of the document said it “prohibits the release of non-public information without approval or through a defined process."

Another document announced the polygraphs and stated that everyone from four-star generals to admin staff at the Pentagon will be subject to them.

The goal is to stop the leaks. The Post said that it will "ferret out officials deemed insufficiently loyal or who provide information to reporters."

There are already restrictions and penalties in place for releasing information without approval.

“This seems to be far more directed at ensuring loyalty to DOD [the Department of Defense] and the Trump administration leadership rather than countering any foreign espionage,” said whistleblower lawyer Mark Zaid, when speaking to The Post.

“There are reasons why individuals were not required to take polygraphs before. And I would question why now the polygraph, and an overbroad NDA is being required other than to intimidate the workforce and ensure tighter control," he added.

Read the report here.