U.S. spy agency’s push for secrecy seen as another failing of Obama’s transparency pledge

(McClatchy) Intelligence officials are pushing to classify as secret certain information about lie detectors that they believe U.S. adversaries might use to harm national security, even though much of it has been available to the public for decades.

The effort has sparked an internal debate among defense and intelligence officials over whether the government has the authority to classify the information under current policy, especially since much of the information is now easily accessible on the Internet, according to internal documents and interviews conducted by McClatchy.

The Defense Intelligence Agency wants the government academy that trains all federal polygraphers to “conceal most of what it does,” including its teachings and research on polygraph-beating techniques, according to internal academy documents obtained by McClatchy. The DIA cites the need to “deny adversaries of any information which might be used against U.S. interests,” the documents say. The DIA and 26 other federal agencies polygraph tens of thousands of people a year for jobs, security clearances and in some cases in criminal investigations.

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