Latest news with #leakers
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House reportedly told Pete Hegseth's team to stop doing polygraph tests after complaint
The White House has put a stop to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's alleged use of polygraph tests in an attempt to root out leakers to the press, according to a new report. As Hegseth became embroiled in the Signalgate scandal, his team began administering polygraph tests in April to those in his inner circle, U.S. officials, and others with knowledge of the matter, according to The Washington Post. The White House's intervention came after Hegseth's senior advisor, Patrick Weaver, raised concerns to officials that he could be the next target of the defense secretary's polygraph campaign, the sources said. Weaver, who held posts in the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Council in Donald Trump's first administration, allegedly grew irate after learning he might be ordered to take a polygraph test. Weaver remains an adviser to Hegseth, according to The Post. The alleged spate of polygraphs came during a tumultuous period where Hegseth fired three senior Pentagon appointees – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick – who he accused of leaking classified and sensitive information to the media. The men deny any accusations of wrongdoing, and Hegseth's team has presented no evidence to back its claims. Just days later, the defense secretary was engulfed in Signalgate after top officials mistakenly included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal group chat, giving him a front-row seat to discussions about impending U.S. strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen back in March. Multiple tests were carried out over several weeks, with approval from Hegseth and his private attorney, Tim Parlatore, the sources said. However, a Trump administration official intervened with a phone call, instructing the Defense Department to halt the campaign. Members of the Joint Service Interagency Advisory Group, a specialized Pentagon team assembled to address national security issues like drug cartels, had already been administered tests prior to Weaver's complaint, the sources added. Senior Hegseth advisor Colonel Ricky Buria took a polygraph test and received inconclusive results, the sources said, which officials first told the Guardian in May. Navy Admiral Christopher Grady, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, have also faced the threat of polygraph tests, those with knowledge of the matter said. The Pentagon declined to provide a comment to The Independent on reports of polygraph testing, citing an 'ongoing investigation.' 'The Fake News Media's obsession with months-old workplace gossip is a reflection of the sad and pathetic state of 'journalism' in Washington,' spokesperson Sean Parnell said. Despite facing multiple scandals, Trump continues to publicly support Hegseth. 'A lot of people swirl shit to try to take him down, honestly — but talk of drama with him is overblown,' a senior White House official told Politico on Monday. 'What I know is that everyone who matters has his back completely, currently.' However, some Trump allies and MAGA supporters have expressed concerns that the defense secretary's controversies could damage the administration's credibility. One source close to Hegseth said he is being urged to make peace with the employees he has ousted. 'If there's any chance at Pete resetting and ensuring that whatever time he has left in this position is well served, he's got to do it — otherwise Pete is just doubling down on the lie,' they told Politico. The Independent has contacted the White House for more information.
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The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
White House reportedly told Pete Hegseth's team to stop doing polygraph tests after complaint
The White House has put a stop to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 's alleged use of polygraph tests in an attempt to root out leakers to the press, according to a new report. As Hegseth became embroiled in the Signalgate scandal, his team began administering polygraph tests in April to those in his inner circle, U.S. officials, and others with knowledge of the matter, according to The Washington Post. The White House's intervention came after Hegseth's senior advisor, Patrick Weaver, raised concerns to officials that he could be the next target of the defense secretary 's polygraph campaign, the sources said. Weaver, who held posts in the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Council in Donald Trump 's first administration, allegedly grew irate after learning he might be ordered to take a polygraph test. Weaver remains an adviser to Hegseth, according to The Post. The alleged spate of polygraphs came during a tumultuous period where Hegseth fired three senior Pentagon appointees – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick – who he accused of leaking classified and sensitive information to the media. The men deny any accusations of wrongdoing, and Hegseth's team has presented no evidence to back its claims. Just days later, the defense secretary was engulfed in Signalgate after top officials mistakenly included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal group chat, giving him a front-row seat to discussions about impending U.S. strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen back in March. Multiple tests were carried out over several weeks, with approval from Hegseth and his private attorney, Tim Parlatore, the sources said. However, a Trump administration official intervened with a phone call, instructing the Defense Department to halt the campaign. Members of the Joint Service Interagency Advisory Group, a specialized Pentagon team assembled to address national security issues like drug cartels, had already been administered tests prior to Weaver's complaint, the sources added. Senior Hegseth advisor Colonel Ricky Buria took a polygraph test and received inconclusive results, the sources said, which officials first told the Guardian in May. Navy Admiral Christopher Grady, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, have also faced the threat of polygraph tests, those with knowledge of the matter said. The Pentagon declined to provide a comment to the newspaper on reports of polygraph testing, citing an 'ongoing investigation.' 'The Fake News Media's obsession with months-old workplace gossip is a reflection of the sad and pathetic state of 'journalism' in Washington,' spokesperson Sean Parnell said. Despite facing multiple scandals, Trump continues to publicly support Hegseth. 'A lot of people swirl shit to try to take him down, honestly — but talk of drama with him is overblown,' a senior White House official told Politico on Monday. 'What I know is that everyone who matters has his back completely, currently.' However, some Trump allies and MAGA supporters have expressed concerns that the defense secretary's controversies could damage the administration's credibility. One source close to Hegseth said he is being urged to make peace with the employees he has ousted. 'If there's any chance at Pete resetting and ensuring that whatever time he has left in this position is well served, he's got to do it — otherwise Pete is just doubling down on the lie,' they told Politico.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
White House orders Hegseth to stop polygraphs on Pentagon staff suspected of leaking: report
The White House pulled the plug on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of polygraph tests to root out leakers, according to a report. Patrick Weaver, a current adviser to Hegseth, alerted high-ranking administration officials that he could soon have to submit a polygraph test, the Washington Post reported. That prompted a call to Hegseth to drop the lie detector tests. Weaver, who has previously held roles on the White House's National Security Council and in the Department of Homeland Security during President Donald Trump's first administration, took offense to the potential measure. The investigation to identify leakers within the Department of Defense began in late March with a memo from Joe Kasper, then Hegseth's chief of staff. "Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense demand immediate and thorough investigation," Kasper wrote in the March 21 memo. "The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy," Kasper added. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. The revelation is the latest controversy at the Pentagon, which earlier this year endured the 'Signalgate' scandal. Discussions about military action between Hegseth and a group of top Trump officials were leaked, despite being conducted on the encrypted app. Then-national security advisor Michael Waltz assumed "full responsibility" for the misstep of including the Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on the Signal chat alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Hegseth. In the aftermath of the accidental leak to a journalist about impending U.S. military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Trump has remained firmly in Hegseth's corner, offering public support.
Phone Arena
7 days ago
- Phone Arena
No more peeking: Samsung closes the door on early One UI leaks
We all know that the world of mobile tech is full to the brim with leakers, who get their hands on whatever companies try to hide about upcoming products or releases. And as much as we love these leakers (the hype about new stuff is real), companies don't particularly like them. Over the past few months, a lot of One UI 8 firmware builds (internal ones) have been leaked for multiple models of Galaxy phones. This gave us a very detailed early look at what Samsung was planning in terms of software. Well, it seems this won't happen again, at least not this way. A few months ago, a curious dev found a way to locate and download under-development One UI firmware files. These files were meant for Samsung's internal testing. And this is what brought us early looks over One UI 8 for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Z Flip 6, and Fold 6. Now, the folks at SamMobile confirm that, unfortunately, for all the curious folks who want to see early builds, Samsung has fixed that loophole that allowed people to access its internal test server. That server was used to send software updates for Galaxy phones, tablets, and smartwatches, but for internal testing. Now, unless someone else manages to find another loophole, these internal One UI firmware files can't be accessed. So yep, this pretty much means not to have any hopes of seeing early builds of One UI 8 .5, which may come with the Galaxy S26 series. Also, we won't be able to know, at least not in this way, new software features under development for Samsung's devices. Of course, you can still download publicly released firmware files; this has nothing to do with the usual downloads for firmware (the official ones). And also, beta builds will continue to exist to give people an early look (officially) at new builds of One UI. So we're likely going to see One UI 8 .5 before it releases with the Galaxy S26 , because it will likely first be beta tested on the Galaxy S25 phones.
GSM Arena
09-07-2025
- GSM Arena
iPhone 17 Air colorways leak
The iPhone 17 Air is now rumored to come in four colorways: black, silver, light gold, and light blue. The light blue will be "very light" according to one leaker, barely blue at all and more white in a lot of lighting scenarios. The subtlety theme continues with the light gold version, which is muted and not at all an in-your-face shade of gold. It seems like the overarching theme of this device will be lightness and thinness, and Apple doesn't want its colors to get in the way of that. The iPhone 17 Air is now rumored to sport the A19 Pro chip, though a lesser version than the one featured in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. Still, it's a step up from what the iPhone 16 Plus had to work with, and let's not forget that the iPhone 17 Air is replacing the iPhone 16 Plus. It will also get the same RAM amount as the Pros. So its only downsides will be the laughable battery capacity and the fact that it only has one rear camera. Perhaps a lot of people will be willing to overlook those in the name of thinness (5.5mm to 5.65mm) and lightness (145g). Via
