The Deep State thought they could play the same old games against Donald Trump.
But this time, they’re facing real consequences for their underhanded tactics.
And Pete Hegseth ordered one national security investigation that blindsided everyone.
Pentagon leakers will face lie detector tests and criminal prosecution
During Donald Trump’s first term, shadowy bureaucrats within the government routinely leaked false information to their media allies to sabotage his administration.
This tactic was perhaps most shamefully displayed when leakers fed Washington Post reporter David Ignatius information about National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s perfectly normal diplomatic conversations with the Russian Ambassador, fueling the Russia collusion hoax.
Now, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is making sure these subversive tactics won’t work in Trump’s second term.
The New York Times recently published a story falsely claiming that the Pentagon was briefing Elon Musk on secret war plans for a potential conflict with Communist China. The report suggested that Musk was receiving classified information he shouldn’t have access to.
President Trump immediately set the record straight, shooting down the story about Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency that Musk leads as an utter fiction.
“He’s there for DOGE, not there for China, and if you ever mentioned China, I think he’d walk out of the room,” Trump pointedly declared.
Hegseth confirmed that the Times’ reporting was fabricated.
“We welcomed him today to the Pentagon to talk about DOGE, to talk about efficiencies, to talk about innovations,” Hegseth told reporters. “It was a great, informal conversation. The rest of that reporting was fake. There was no war plans, there was no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans.”
But unlike previous administrations that would simply deny false stories and move on, Hegseth is taking unprecedented action to identify and punish the leakers.
His Chief of Staff Joe Kasper sent a letter to Pentagon employees announcing lie detector tests as part of an investigation to root out those responsible.
“Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) demand immediate and thorough investigation,” Kasper wrote.
The letter made clear that this isn’t just about identifying the culprits – it’s about holding them legally accountable.
“If this effort results in information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure,” then the leaker “will be referred to the appropriate criminal entity for criminal prosecution,” Kasper added.
This represents a dramatic shift from previous administrations, where leakers were often protected or even celebrated by the establishment media as “whistleblowers” when they undermined Trump’s agenda.
Musk drops the mic on The New York Times
Musk took to his social media platform X to blast the newspaper.
“The New York Times is pure propaganda,” Musk wrote. “Also, I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found.”
The New York Times is pure propaganda.
Also, I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.
They will be found. pic.twitter.com/xANvLMOH5j
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2025
A few days later, Musk reiterated his charge about the Times, this time sharing a screenshot of a post illustrating the hypocritical nature of the paper’s language choices when it comes to stories about abortion and immigration in a post he shared on X.
“New York Times when peddling abortions: ‘Fetus,’ the post began. “New York Times when peddling illegal immigration: ‘Unborn Child’.”
The New York Times is pure propaganda https://t.co/e3HjwRKASp
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2025
For decades, career bureaucrats in Washington have operated with impunity, believing they could undermine elected officials without consequence. That era appears to be ending.
The investigation sends a clear message to the entire federal bureaucracy: the days of consequence-free sabotage are over.
It also suggests that other Trump appointees may follow Hegseth’s lead in aggressively rooting out those who attempt to subvert the administration’s agenda through leaks and false narratives.
.@DeptofDefense is launching a law enforcement and intel investigation at the Pentagon — with polygraphs — on DOD personnel to hunt for leaks. It will have a chilling effect on information. In memo, @SecDef Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff says personnel will be reported to the… pic.twitter.com/g8yNet8oi1
— Tara Copp (@TaraCopp) March 22, 2025
The lie detector tests represent one of the strongest measures taken to identify leakers in recent memory, demonstrating that the administration is serious about draining the swamp.
This action comes as Democrats, the RINO establishment, Deep State bureaucrats, warmongering defense profiteers, and their media allies – who all feel threatened by reform efforts – attempt one attack after another on the Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump administration’s domestic and foreign policy agendas.
The Pentagon’s crackdown on leakers is likely just the beginning of a broader effort to restore accountability to a federal government that has long operated seemingly outside the control of elected officials.
Americans who voted for Trump’s agenda will undoubtedly see this as a welcome development after years of watching Deep State operatives sabotage policies they supported at the ballot box.
For those who have long insisted that unelected bureaucrats wield too much power in Washington, Hegseth’s action is a significant step toward restoring the principle that government should answer to the people, not the other way around.
