Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly lashed out at Navy Admiral Christopher Grady, the then-acting chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, over a suspected leak. Hegseth threatened Grady with a lie detector test, using profane language. The leak concerned a classified briefing Hegseth arranged between Elon Musk and the Pentagon. President Trump reportedly became angry about the briefing.
Hegseth’s actions have drawn significant criticism. He is also under scrutiny for sharing imminent attack plans via Signal with a reporter, his wife, brother, and lawyer. He has fired aides, claiming they planted the Signal story and a report about a makeup studio installed in the Pentagon for his TV appearances further damaged his reputation. At least one Republican House member has called for his dismissal, and the White House was reportedly seeking a replacement.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly teed off on a high-ranking official he suspected of a leak, lewdly threatening him with a lie detector test.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday divulged the alleged details of the embattled Hegseth’s tantrum. When word got out Hegseth was setting up a classified briefing for Elon Musk on China last month, President Donald Trump got angry amid Pentagon concerns over the DOGE leader’s business connections to China, the Journal wrote.
That’s when Hegseth lost it.
“I’ll hook you up to a fucking polygraph!” Hegseth blared at Navy Admiral Christopher Grady, two people familiar with the exchange told WSJ.
Hegseth suspected Grady, then acting chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had let slip the news of the March 21 Musk briefing, so Hegseth insisted on proof that Grady wasn’t behind the leak, according to the Journal. But Grady never did take that polygraph, while Hegseth later threatened another official with a lie-detector test over the apparent breach.
Hegseth’s problems apparently got bigger from there. The defense secretary has come under intense scrutiny for divulging imminent attack plans to a reporter on a Signal group chat and in another Signal conversation with his wife, brother and lawyer.
Hegseth suggested his aides planted the Signal story and fired some of them. A report that he set up a makeup studio in the Pentagon for TV appearances hasn’t helped his image either.
At least one Republican House member has suggested that he be fired and a report emerged that the White House was already searching for a replacement.
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