28 Sep 2018 7:17 pm
Brett Kavanaugh Once Said Polygraphs Are A Good Tool. Now He Says They’re Unreliable.
In 2016, Kavanaugh wrote the opinion for a case involving a Ph.D. student who had filed several Freedom of Information Act requests for her dissertation on polygraph bias.
The court case centered on whether the student qualified for reduced FOIA fees — the panel decided that she did — but the panel also weighed in on the Defense Department’s decision to withhold certain reports about polygraph exams.
In his opinion, Kavanaugh concluded that polygraphs are a valuable tool for the government to determine credibility and decide who should be allowed to handle classified information.
As the Government notes, law enforcement agencies use polygraphs to test the credibility of witnesses and criminal defendants.
Those agencies also use polygraphs to “screen applicants for security clearances so that they may be deemed suitable for work in critical law enforcement, defense, and intelligence collection roles.”
The Government has satisfactorily explained how polygraph examinations serve law enforcement purposes.
Asked by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on Thursday if he had taken a polygraph test, Kavanaugh said he had not.
“No, I’ll do whatever the committee wants.
Of course, those are not admissible in federal court,” he said, knowing that the Republican-controlled committee was unlikely to instruct him to take a polygraph.
“They’re not admissible in federal court because they are not reliable, as you know.”
In 2016, Kavanaugh wrote the opinion for a case involving a Ph.D. student who had filed several Freedom of Information Act requests for her dissertation on polygraph bias.
The court case centered on whether the student qualified for reduced FOIA fees — the panel decided that she did — but the panel also weighed in on the Defense Department’s decision to withhold certain reports about polygraph exams.
In his opinion, Kavanaugh concluded that polygraphs are a valuable tool for the government to determine credibility and decide who should be allowed to handle classified information.
As the Government notes, law enforcement agencies use polygraphs to test the credibility of witnesses and criminal defendants.
Those agencies also use polygraphs to “screen applicants for security clearances so that they may be deemed suitable for work in critical law enforcement, defense, and intelligence collection roles.”
The Government has satisfactorily explained how polygraph examinations serve law enforcement purposes.
Asked by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on Thursday if he had taken a polygraph test, Kavanaugh said he had not.
“No, I’ll do whatever the committee wants.
Of course, those are not admissible in federal court,” he said, knowing that the Republican-controlled committee was unlikely to instruct him to take a polygraph.
“They’re not admissible in federal court because they are not reliable, as you know.”