Pete Hegseth has been hit by a highly sensitive leak at the Pentagon just as he attempts to launch a crackdown on whistleblowers.
The Secretary of War — whose department has been plagued by backstabbing — now finds that a dystopian plan to crackdown on leaking, using lie detector tests, has also found its way into the press.
According to internal documents obtained by the Washington Post, Hegseth is forcing officials, including top generals, to submit to random polygraph tests and sign sweeping nondisclosure agreements or potentially face dismissal.
This change would mean an even deeper lockbox of information control as Hegseth attempts to silence and root out internal critics.
Civilian employees, contract workers and military personnel inside Pentagon headquarters will be subjected to the extraordinary measures, impacting thousands of personnel.
According to a draft memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, individuals involved would have to sign an NDA that ‘prohibits the release of non–public information without approval or through a defined process.’
Hegseth is doubling down on discipline within the ranks after a highly publicized meeting in Quantico on Tuesday where he laid out the Pentagon’s tougher principles and guidelines to leading generals and admirals across the country.
Another document mentions random lie–detector tests for officials. New rules would mean the Pentagon would not impose a limit on who would have to take these tests.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, at the White House on July 4
Pete Hegseth hosts a fitness check with Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at the Pentagon Athletic Center on August 13
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday
That means anyone, from leading generals to administrators and assistants, could be asked.
The Pentagon’s new NDA would ban staff from sharing any non–public information unless they get explicit permission.
The tests are a highly unusual requirement that haven’t been used under previous administrations.
These tests mirror language that the Defense Department is now asking reporters to agree to.
Reporters are told they ‘should not disclose either classified or controlled unclassified information that is not formally authorized for publication’ and that ‘violations may lead to “suspension or revocation of your building pass and loss of access.’
A source close to Hegseth defends that move, telling the Daily Mail that the new guidelines for reporters only emphasizes that they should not try to solicit private information from government employees –– something he says could jeopardize their department.
‘The protection of sensitive information is paramount to our national security, the safety of our warfighters, and the preservation of critical decision space for our senior leaders,’ Feinberg wrote in the NDA memo.
Failure to comply, he said, could result in punishment.
This is just one of several new changes made by Hegseth under the name of ‘America–First’ policy – at the hot–button meeting in Quantico – including new policies that would overhaul the Inspector General and the department’s equal employment opportunity office, overhauling a process that he says has been ‘weaponized.’
‘No more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complaints, smearing reputations, no more endless waiting or side–tracking careers,’ Hegseth said.
Hegseth said at Tuesday morning’s meeting that he would have another briefing ‘soon.’
The NDA and polygraph documents have reportedly not been approved yet.
Earlier this year, a top aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sounded the alarm to the White House, claiming they were being targeted in a leak hunt to the media.
Hegseth’s adviser, Patrick Weaver complained to the White House that his team could be asked to take a lie-detector test. The White House intervened, deciding to stop the polygraph testing.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
