The US Department of Internal Security (DHS) has submitted about 50 employees to lies detector tests in recent weeks, and about a dozen disaster assistance agency (FEMA) authorities, including FEMA’s interim administrator, as part of an increasing effort to identify what the department claims to be national security information.
FEMA’s interim administrator Cameron Hamilton, appointed by former President Donald Trump, was submitted to the polygraph test a few days after attending a meeting with high DHS officials to discuss policies about the agency’s future and his possible deactivation in the coming months.
This meeting to closed doors was reported by CNN and other press vehicles.
At least one FEMA employee was placed on an administrative license and escorted out of the agency’s office this week after taking the polygraph test, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
“We are indifferent to your position, time of service, political appointment or status as a career servant-we will track those responsible for leakage and process them with the maximum rigor of the law,” said the spokesman for the internal security department, Tricia McLaughlin, in an email sent to CNN .
DHS investigations have raised concerns that lies detector tests are being applied to federal servants accused of leaking unmistes to the press, especially FEMA, where sources say confidential information handling occurs in very limited situations.
SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS TO THE COMPLAINTS TALKED TO CNN that it would be unusual, alarming and potentially illegal to use these tests in these cases.
A Fema employee, who declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, said, “They are going after ordinary employees and establishing this culture of fear.”
The Trump administration, including the Department of Internal Security (DHS) and the Defense Department, has launched several investigations involving the use of polygrade to investigate unauthorized disclosures of classified and national security information.
According to DHS spokesman McLaughlin, some FEMA employees “disapproved” in the test, although she refused to provide details about what information would have been leaked. She said DHS is acting within legality.
“We will take the appropriate measures and, in some cases, we will refer to criminal proceedings based on additional evidence found,” McLaughlin told CNN .
She also stated that FEMA’s interim administrator Cameron Hamilton was approved in the polygraph test. Hamilton continues in office, and CNN contacted him to comment. The political site was the first to report that he had been subjected to the test.
A FEMA employee said to CNN That the idea that DHS is testing only workers suspected of leaking confidential information is “extremely absurd,” based on the knowledge of the people who have been subjected to the test and the functions they perform.
“They are just covering the unpopular decisions they are making,” said the official. “FEMA consumes classified information, it does not produce it, and FEMA programs that really deal with confidential data are restricted to an extremely small group of people.”
A second Fema employee rated tests as a “witch hunt.”
“I find it very, very difficult to believe that in the normal work course, any of these employees had access to confidential material,” said the official. “They are trying to instill fear. They are trying to get rid of people.”
Tom Devine, legal director of Government Accountability Project – a non -profit and non -supportive organization of supporters – said he was surprised by the number of polygraph tests applied only in the first three months of the Trump administration.
“Government agencies for decades have been using a lie detectors to get those who leak information or any other they consider guilty. The difference here is the volume,” said Devine. “What was once a sensitive, carefully considered and high -risk decision has now become an impulsive reaction – and that’s scary.”
As it had already been reported by CNN Experts question the validity of polygraph tests, claiming that they are susceptible to coercion, unreliable and often inadmissible in courts.
Tests are being performed amid increased tension between FEMA employees and the internal security department, which oversees the disaster response agency.
Trump and his allies have been harshly criticizing the fema for months, calling the supporting agency, ineffective and unnecessary. Internal Security Secretary Kristi Noem has promised to “eliminate the fema.”
Noem, DHS and the Doge initiative led by Elon Musk are proposing significant cuts in Fema. Last week, the agency’s employees received offers of voluntary dismissal and early retirement as part of the new phase of the postponed resignation program.
Several fema employees said to CNN They expect a mass stampede from the agency in the face of worsening the internal crisis and the fall of morals – which, according to some, can compromise Fema’s ability to respond to storms during the hurricane season.
“Many more employees are considering or accepting voluntary shutdown offers,” said the first Fema employee.
“There is a possibility of a huge loss of institutional knowledge, and this still comes with a second blow: the lack of enough personnel to fulfill the mission, even if the hurricane season is only median.”
B.CNn He had already reported that internal turbulence in FEMA is affecting agency preparations for the hurricane season.
The FEMA employee warns that response teams and resources may be overwhelmed if the US faces a season like last year’s, when Herk and Milton hurricanes hit the country in the country.
This content was originally published in the USA use lies detector on employees on suspicion of leaks on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
