Top US military officials face lie-detectors in leak hunt: reports

The Pentagon has launched a lie-detector dragnet to comb through high-ranking military officials and identify who leaked information about US munitions stockpiles, according to US press reports.

In July, reports emerged that the United States was rationing munitions -- its missile interceptors, in particular -- over supply concerns after several months of fighting Iran.

Administration officials vehemently denied those reports, with President Donald Trump saying "we have a lot of ammunition, different types," while acknowledging that "for some of the more sophisticated stuff, we'd certainly like to have more."

Late Friday, The New York Times reported that some 50 members of the military's Joint Staff -- the Pentagon's planning and advisory staff -- were being required to take polygraph tests as part of an investigation into how classified stockpile information made its way into journalists' hands.

CBS News later also reported the wide-scale use of lie detectors, while adding that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, had not been tested.

Both outlets cited unnamed officials.

Asked by AFP about the reports, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, refused to comment on "internal personnel or investigative matters," but said that it "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," Parnell added.

Both the Times and CBS noted the scale of the polygraph testing.

Lie-detection testing is routine during background screenings and security clearance renewals for government staff with access to the most sensitive state secrets.

But the wide-scale deployment of the detectors as part of a leak investigation was rare, if unprecedented, the outlets reported, citing analysts and unnamed officials.