FBI's Use of Polygraphs to Assess Officials' Loyalty

Some senior officials who have taken the test have been asked whether they said anything negative about the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel.

The use of the polygraph, and the nature of the questioning, is part of the F.B.I.’s broader crackdown on news leaks, reflecting, to a degree, the director's acute awareness of how he is publicly portrayed.

Typically, the F.B.I. has turned to polygraph tests to sniff out employees who might have betrayed their country or shown they cannot be trusted with secrets.