The New York Times drafted four of its all-star journos to crank out an incensed report that dozens of military officials have been administered polygraph tests by the Defense Department — which Trump calls the “Department of War” even as it take pains to label as a “skirmish” the actual war the president launched against Iran. (Calling the department “War” ignores congressional statutes; calling the war a “skirmish” is an attempt to evade Congress’s war powers — President Trump having started the unpopular war without seeking congressional authorization.)
The president is angry over leaks revealing national-defense secrets about both the parlous state of U.S. munition stocks and the administration’s war strategy (or, if you prefer, the president’s misconceptions, erratic swerves, and ad hoc reactiveness). He has — not for the first time — pressured his top subordinates to conduct aggressive investigations to identify the leaking officials (who would presumably be prosecuted if ferreted out). Consequently, the Defense Department is using lie-detector tests to an extent the Times says is unprecedented, subjecting roughly 50 members of the military’s Joint Staff to polygraphs.
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