Pete Hegseth on a ‘Witch Hunt’ Armed with Lie Detectors

In a stunning escalation of paranoia inside the Trump administration, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been ordered to halt his rogue campaign of polygraphing Pentagon staffers—after a top Trump insider balked at being subjected to a lie detector test.

According to explosive reporting from The Washington Post, the White House was forced to step in after one of its own loyalists raised alarm over Hegseth’s sweeping use of polygraphs on military and civilian personnel. The move, sources say, was part of a larger crusade by Hegseth to plug media leaks after the now-infamous “Signal-gate” scandal rocked the administration earlier this year.

The controversy centers on a series of lie detector tests Hegseth authorized starting in March—just weeks before the Signal-gate leaks exposed internal Trump administration discussions about bombing Yemen. Shockingly, those conversations took place on the encrypted app Signal with a journalist reportedly included in the group chat.

“Instead of holding officials accountable for reckless warmongering on an open app, Hegseth went into full-blown witch hunt mode,” a former senior defense official told this outlet on condition of anonymity. “He’s targeting staff like it’s 1950.”

Polygraph tests were conducted on members of the Joint Service Interagency Advisory Group, FBI liaisons, and even civilian contractors. One staffer said they were warned that “refusal to participate could be viewed as an admission of guilt.”

The situation came to a head in April when Patrick Weaver, a Trump insider and deputy to controversial White House advisor Stephen Miller, was reportedly told he might be next.

That was enough to spark outrage within Trumpworld. “It crossed a line,” a senior administration official told the Post. “You don’t polygraph the president’s guys without permission.”

Within days, the White House reportedly phoned Hegseth’s office with a clear message: Stop. Now.

Neither the Pentagon, the White House, nor Weaver has commented publicly. But insiders say the intervention shows just how chaotic things have become at the top of the Trump-era defense establishment.

This week, internal letters began circulating among senior defense officials reportedly calling for Hegseth’s resignation. The letters criticize not just the polygraph sweeps, but what insiders describe as a “circus of insecurity and showboating” under his leadership.

One staffer told the Daily Mail: “The American public knows this guy has no clue what he’s doing. We’re supposed to be fighting wars, not playing reality TV at the Pentagon.”

Critics say Hegseth’s obsession with optics has reached absurd levels. He recently installed a personal makeup studio at the Pentagon and frequently stages impromptu workout photo ops with troops.

“Half the time he’s flexing in front of a camera, not managing the department,” one senior military official vented.

Hegseth, a former Fox News contributor and longtime MAGA loyalist, was controversially tapped by President Trump for the Defense Secretary role in early 2025 after the abrupt resignation of Lloyd Austin. His appointment was cheered by far-right circles but greeted with skepticism by much of the defense community, who questioned his experience and temperament.

Now, critics say their worst fears are being realized.

“He treats national security like a political campaign,” said Rachel Maddow on MSNBC last night. “He’s chasing ghosts while the real threats go unchecked.”

The American Psychological Association has long warned that polygraph tests are unreliable. “They detect nervousness, not lies,” the APA said in a 2023 statement. “Their results are inadmissible in federal courts for a reason.”

Even the CIA abandoned regular polygraph use on staffers years ago due to its questionable effectiveness. Yet Hegseth reportedly used them “liberally” on anyone suspected of leaking—even without evidence.

“This wasn’t security. This was fear and control,” said a former DOD ethics officer. “And it’s dangerous.”

As the chaos inside the Pentagon grows, pressure is mounting on President Trump to address the growing rebellion within his own ranks. So far, he’s said nothing. But with trust eroding in the highest levels of national defense, silence may no longer be an option.

We’ve reached out to the Pentagon and the White House for comment. No response yet.