Forced to take a lie detector test after tough meeting

Donald Trump

Forced to take a lie detector test after tough meeting

Johan Edgar

Updated 00.21 | Published 00.00

Donald Trump demands total loyalty from his employees. Photo: AP

The White House is doing everything it can to stop leaks.

Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem summoned an agency head for a meeting.

Afterwards, he was forced to take a lie detector test to find out if he had spoken to CNN.

Donald Trump's last term in office was marked by countless leaks from inside his staff.

When he took power again, one of the most important demands on employees was total loyalty.

And no means are spared.

Forced to take a lie detector test

That's what Cameron Hamilton, acting head of the disaster agency Fema, experienced after a meeting.

Kristi Noem, Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security, summoned Hamilton to discuss major cuts to FEMA and a plan to shift emergency and disaster response efforts to the states.

Cameron Hamilton has been forced to take a polygraph test. The test was to determine whether he was the one who leaked information to the media. Photo: Fema_cam/X

Donald Trump's advisor Corey Lewandowski was also present at the March 25 meeting at the Homeland Security Agency headquarters in Washington.

A day later, details of the secret meeting surfaced on CNN and the political website Politico.

Noem then decided to have Hamilton take a polygraph test to determine whether he was the one who leaked information to the media.

"Will hunt everyone down"

This is what several sources told Politico.

The test reportedly showed that the agency chief was not the source of the TV channel.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the incident in an email response to Politico.

A spokesperson states that “under Secretary Noem’s leadership,” they are doing their utmost to “discover leaks that undermine national security,” the site writes.

“We will pursue all leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent,” writes spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Stopping multi-billion dollar efforts

During the meeting with Hamilton, Noem said that she is stopping multi-billion dollar amounts to Fema, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Kristi Noem visits the infamous prison in El Salvador where over 200 alleged gang members from Venezuela have been deported from the United States. Photo: Alex Brandon / AP

The money was supposed to go to programs to help vulnerable communities prepare for possible natural disasters.

“We are pleased that the press is paying attention to Secretary Noem’s efforts to stop waste, fraud and abuse within the Department of Homeland Security,” a spokesperson for the agency said after the information about the meeting was leaked.

The next day, they put the director through a lie detector test.

The leaked information was not really particularly shocking because the day before the meeting, Kristi Noem had said in a televised cabinet meeting that she would “eliminate FEMA.”