‘ICE Barbie’ Kristi Noem took an unconventional approach to weed out suspected leakers by having them take a polygraph test, and it seems to be working. 

The Department of Homeland Security – which 53-year-old Noem runs – has administered around 50 lie detector tests, including at least a dozen FEMA employees, as they continue to try to weed out leakers. 

Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton was among them, although he passed his test, according to CNN. He maintains his position. 

Last month, it emerged that the department reportedly administered a lie detector test to Hamilton to ensure he had not leaked sensitive information from a meeting he had with one of Trump’s advisors.

However, at least one FEMA official has been placed under administrative leave and was escorted from the office this week, sources told CNN. 

Others inside the disaster relief organization have also ‘failed’ the test, but it is unclear what happened to them.  

‘We will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,’ DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN. ‘We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant.’ 

A FEMA employee told CNN that Noem and her team are using the test to intimidate employees. 

‘ICE Barbie’ Kristi Noem took an unconventional approach to weed out suspected leakers by having them take a polygraph test, and it seems to be working

Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton was among them, although he passed his test. He maintains his position

‘They’re going after rank-and-file employees and instilling this culture of fear,’ the unidentified employee told CNN. 

Questions over the legality of using the polygraph have come up, but McLaughlin insisted the federal agency is following the law. 

McLaughlin went as far as to say that they will ‘refer some for criminal prosecution based on additional evidence found,’ CNN reported. 

A FEMA source told CNN that DHS’ claim that they are only testing people accused of leaking information is false. 

‘They are just covering up the unpopular stuff they’re doing,’ they said. ‘FEMA is a consumer of classified information, not a producer of classified information, and the FEMA programs that are truly classified are all an extremely small group of people.’

Another referred to the tests as a Trump-favored term: ‘A witch hunt.’ 

‘I find it very, very hard to believe that within the normal course of business, any of these employees had their hands on classified material,’ the source told the outlet. 

‘They are trying to incite fear. They are trying to get rid of people.’ 

The Department of Homeland Security – which 53-year-old Noem runs – has administered around 50 lie detector tests, including at least a dozen FEMA employees, as they continue to try to weed out leakers (pictured: stock image) 

A FEMA source used a Trump-favored term when describing the polygraph tests: ‘A witch hunt’

Government officials using polygraphs are nothing new, but it is usually not seen in this volume, Tom Devine, the legal director for the Government Accountability Project, told CNN. 

‘What used to be a sensitive, carefully considered high-risk decision, is now a knee-jerk reaction, and that’s what’s scary,’ he told the outlet. 

The DHS in February vowed to use polygraph tests to weed out any staffers who had leaked information, after Trump’s border czar Tom Homan expressed concerns that an internal leak had tipped off illegal immigrants about an upcoming raid.

At the time, Homan said the information that made its way out of the department was utilized by Tren de Aragua gang members to hide from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Colorado and California, hampering the efforts of authorities.

‘The Department of Homeland Security is a national security agency,’ McLaughlin said in a post to X at the time.

‘We can, should, and will polygraph personnel.’

The directive had come directly from Noem, who reportedly issued an internal memo ordering her department to administer future polygraphs with a question specifically about unauthorized discussions with journalists and private citizens.

Questions over the legality of using the polygraph have come up, but McLaughlin insisted the federal agency is following the law. McLaughlin went as far as to say that they will ‘refer some for criminal prosecution based on additional evidence found’ (pictured: Noem on an ICE raid)

Then in March, the Pentagon announced it was also investigating leaks of information that risked national security.

The department said it would not rule out using lie detectors on employees in the Defense Department, run by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as part of the investigation.