CISA drops probe into failed polygraph test opened by former chief
Source: Politico
03/28/2026 10:00 AM EDT
The Department of Homeland Security has closed an investigation into seven career staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who arranged a counterintelligence polygraph exam that the agency’s former acting director failed, according to three current and one former officials with knowledge of the matter.
The development marks a major vindication for the staffers, who were informed this week they had been cleared of wrongdoing and were welcome to return to CISA, according to the four people, all of whom were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. It comes more than seven months after DHS revoked their security clearances and placed them under paid investigative leave, which POLITICO first reported.
Former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin previously told POLITICO the staffers were under investigation for “misleading” CISA’s then-acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, about the need for the test, which she described as “unsanctioned.” But several officials told POLITICO at the time it was Gottumukkala who pushed to take the exam so he could review sensitive intelligence material shared with CISA.
The incident raised questions about Gottumukkala’s leadership among current and former agency officials, including several Trump administration appointees, who believed the accusations against the staffers were not credible.Spokespeople for DHS and CISA, which is nested inside the sprawling department, did not respond to a request for comment.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/28/cisa-polygraph-investigation-closed-00849376
REFERENCES
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143586282
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143601284
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143607518
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143622909
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