Posted: 08 Oct 2019 10:45 AM PDT

White House staffers have reportedly volunteered to take polygraph tests in order to prove their loyalty to President Trump in light of the firehose of leaks coming out of the administration. Staffers likely made the drastic offer because the president frequently mentions polygraphing his own staffers when the media reports on internal White House information, according to numerous former aides and officials. "He wanted to polygraph every employee in the building to unearth who it was who spoke to the press," a former official told Politico. That former official also noted that Trump tends to be particularly angered when he is certain that specific stories are true.

The dam of secrecy within the Trump administration burst almost instantaneously, and within the first months of his presidency, Trump reportedly became fixated on polygraphing staffers. The president was especially irate after reports on the intricacies of former FBI Director James Comey's firing, according to a former official. Since then, internal White House call transcripts, draft executive orders, and accounts of Oval Office infighting are routinely leaked to the press. Top aides have so far been successful at talking Trump out of issuing the lie detector tests, but multiple former officials said he continues to float the idea.

Read it at Politico

Unsurprisingly, Trump Is a Polygraph Guy - New York Magazine

Posted: 08 Oct 2019 02:56 PM PDT

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

It seems quite appropriate that our scientifically challenged president — who believes windmills cause cancer and reportedly believes a nuke could stop a hurricane — is in favor of a scientifically challenged solution to solve a political problem. According to a report from Politico, Trump has become obsessed with the junk science of polygraphs to help plug up the historic leak problem in his administration. Following major disclosures, the president has consistently brought up lie-detector tests as a way to determine which staffers have disclosed information to reporters.

"He wanted to polygraph every employee in the building to unearth who it was who spoke to the press," one former official told Politico. To appease the president, White House staffers have offered to take polygraphs to prove they weren't the source of the leak. Of course, even if they did sit for a lie-detector test, it wouldn't necessarily prove much: The procedure, which determines autonomic changes in heart rate, respiration, and skin conductivity, is notoriously unreliable.

Since the late 1990s, psychologists have determined that it may be impossible for the test to produce an accurate result, due to the variability of human response under stress. As the American Psychological Association notes, "An honest person may be nervous when answering truthfully and a dishonest person may be non-anxious." Because of their iffy results, 27 states do not allow the tests to be admissible at trial. (Still, they are relied upon in the intelligence community. "Polygraphs are "part of 'Leak Investigation 101' and should absolutely be used when necessary to protect against the unlawful release of national security information," a former NSC official told Politico.)

Though the president wouldn't let something like the accuracy of a test — or a major invasion of his staffers' privacy — get in his way, the usual roadblock for Trump's bad ideas won out, as administration members just ignored his requests. The polygraphs were "something that was discussed and people were trying to placate the president and trying to show that they were taking it as personally and just as seriously as he was," a former White House official told Politico. "Taking that line of, 'Oh yeah, we have to polygraph people' was a way to ingratiate themselves with him, but it wasn't an idea that ever went anywhere because it was absurd."

Reporter's Notebook: Here's why police use polygraphs and how they work - Twin Falls Times-News

Posted: 07 Oct 2019 01:00 AM PDT

While my recent columns have dealt with cool cars and motorcycles, now that many of those have gone into hibernation thanks to the rush of cold weather, I'll take the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity about the workings of other equipment in various fields.

While writing about how law enforcement agencies are struggling to find recruits, for instance, the idea of taking a polygraph test as part of the pre-employment screening for the Twin Falls Police Department intrigued me.

That led to a sit-down meeting with Chief Craig Kingsbury and Lt. Craig Stotts, both of whom have performed numerous polygraph tests over the years.

Stotts has been handling the process for Twin Falls Police for the past seven years. Kingsbury started in 1999 when he worked for other agencies, though he hasn't done any polygraphs since he took over as chief about four years ago.

The training involved in becoming a qualified polygraph examiner is extensive; there's a 10-week course, and it's expensive. The tests are computerized now, with no paper read-out, as is often seen on television.

"It's not like on TV," Stotts said.

He acknowledged there are a lot of misconceptions about polygraph tests, including the alternate title "lie detector."

"It really isn't a lie detector," Stotts explained. "It's a physiological monitor and recording device."

What that means, basically, is that the instrument and the various sensors connected to the subject's body monitor reactions to questions via breathing, blood pressure, body motion, pulse and even perspiration.

In the case of Twin Falls Police pre-employment polygraph tests, Stotts related how he can spend two or more hours preparing the applicant for a 10-minute test.

"Everybody who comes in for a polygraph is nervous," Stotts said.

I was no exception.

Even though I had nothing on the line, such as a prospective job or a criminal case, when Stotts got me in the rather small room where a laptop computer with specialized software is hooked up to the instrument, I could feel my heart pounding.

The chair, which might be found at any office desk or conference table, reminded me of an electric chair, with the wires and devices.

Being naturally a squirmy sort when sitting anywhere, when Stotts told me one of the keys is to be still during the polygraph, I cringed.

A rectangular pad on the chair's seat would sense if I tensed my gluteal muscles, or even wiggled my toes.

Two gold-plated bands were secured with Velcro to my right index and ring fingers, with a pulse monitor on my middle finger.

On my left arm, a blood pressure cuff was secured and partially inflated.

Two hoses were wrapped around my torso with chains, one across my chest and the other around my midsection.

Stott demonstrated how if I took a deep breath or held my breath, the software would show it on the computer screen.

The practice test he gave is meant to determine whether a subject's physiological system is able to be tested.

By forcing a reaction, the polygraph examiner can get an idea of what that reaction will be by watching the multi-colored lines move across the screen.

Stott said that when doing the practice test, some people's reactions don't lend to performing the test.

As for me, I was a good subject.

The polygraph test itself gives the police the most accurate results available. "We only use the tests that have been validated," Stott said.

For Kingsbury, applicants wishing to become police officers need to be honest in answering the questions.

"The number one thing I'm looking for is integrity," Kingsbury said.

Stotts agreed. "Everybody lies."

It's just vital not to lie taking the polygraph test.

There are other types of polygraph tests, Stott said. In criminal cases, a specific issue test could be given, where a subject is asked certain questions, perhaps multiple times, to confirm statements given about criminal activities.

Stott performs some of those, for both Twin Falls Police and other area agencies. "We help out our partners all over the place."

Both Stott and Kingsbury have stories to tell about their experiences administering polygraph exams during the pre-employment screening.

Kingsbury, for example, recalled a police candidate while he worked in Nampa about 15 years ago. A high school teacher and former college athlete, the individual failed to be truthful about thefts from his second job.

Stotts told of a candidate who had been stealing from the business where he worked and from his fellow employees.

"These are things you would never know without the polygraph," Stotts said.

"It scares me as a police chief that some departments don't use this tool," Kingsbury said about those agencies that don't use a polygraph as part of pre-employment screening.

He added, "With public trust being what it is today, we can't hire someone and have something come up later."

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Trump Has Considered Ordering Staffers to Take Polygraph Tests: Report - The Daily Beast

Trump Has Considered Ordering Staffers to Take Polygraph Tests: Report - The Daily Beast

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