Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said Sunday that Congress has not been briefed on an alleged leak investigation spearheaded by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Crow called the probe “part of his effort to create fear and to clamp down on information coming out of the Pentagon.”
Crow, who is a senior member of both the House Armed Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee, told “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that he and his fellow lawmakers “haven’t received any information” about the sweeping probe into how the source of highly sensitive classified details about the nation’s stockpiles of sophisticated weapons made their way to the media.
Instead, the Colorado Democrat said that members of Congress have learned about the investigation through “public reports.” Last week, officials briefed on the probe told CBS News that some of the highest-ranking U.S. military personnel were forced to undergo polygraph tests after President Trump became infuriated by the leaks. Although polygraph tests can be routine top military figures, conducting them on such a large group of people is rare.
“Certainly, stopping leaks and protecting classified information is really important, and I would always support that,” said Crow. “The problem is the broader context that Pete Hegseth has created here.”
Hegseth has purged the Department of Defense of more than 80 generals and admirals since assuming his role at the start of the current Trump administration, equating to the top 10% of the military’s chain of command, said Crow. Further, he added, the number of women up for promotions in the military has also reached a 25-year low under Hegseth’s leadership.
“And he’s created an environment of fear. He’s pushed out journalists. He’s pushed out media,” Crow added.
He suggested Hegseth’s decision to withhold information about the leak investigation from Congress follows a “trend” within the Trump administration “of them not wanting anybody, including members of Congress, to understand what’s going on.”
Officials told CBS News that Hegseth’s investigation didn’t subject all senior military leaders to polygraph testing, and that the tests included questions meant to determine who leaked information to the media about the U.S. munitions stockpile, which no one failed. The probe itself was prompted by earlier media reports covering the rapid depletion of some of the country’s most advanced munitions several weeks into the Iran war, stirring widespread concerns about its readiness for any potential conflict ahead.
Asked about the state of the reported munitions shortages now, Crow said: “They don’t want people to know. This is exactly the point. They don’t want people to know what’s actually happening.”
