Lawmakers Seek Investigation Into Former CISA Acting Director's Polygraph and Clearance Handling
House Democrats asked the inspectors general for the intelligence community and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate allegations that former CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala bypassed intelligence access protocols after failing two polygraph examinations tied to entry into a highly sensitive controlled access program. The lawmakers' letter describes a July 2025 effort to obtain access to one of the government's most restricted intelligence compartments, where admission requires both a demonstrated need-to-know and a successful counterintelligence-scope polygraph.
The request for an independent probe also cites alleged retaliation against career staff, security clearance suspensions, internal investigations, and possible violations of national security directives. Both reports describe the same developing oversight matter and frame it as a governance and security-clearance controversy inside CISA, with lawmakers questioning whether required escalation steps, including notification to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, were ignored after the failed polygraphs.
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