Washington DC - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subjected about 50 staffers to lie detector tests over recent weeks as part of an effort to root out individuals who leaked national security information.

At least one official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was placed on administrative leave and escorted from the agency's office as a result of the investigation.

The interrogations utilized a lie detector polygraph test, the accuracy of which has long been questioned.

Even acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton and a number of top officials were subjected to the lie detector tests.

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

"We will take appropriate action and, in some cases, refer some for criminal prosecution based on additional evidence found."

Hamilton was cleared by the polygraph test and remains in his post, but DHS and other Trump administration departments are continuing a campaign against government employees who leak information.

It is unclear who the specific target of the crackdown is, and whether such efforts may be an attempt to root out federal workers who have leaked non-classified information to the press.

"They're going after rank-and-file employees and instilling this culture of fear," said one FEMA official who expressed concerns that the Trump administration is trying to eliminate whistleblowers in the civil service.

Tom Devine, the legal director at the Government Accountability Project, expressed alarm at the regularity at which polygraph tests are being used by the Trump administration.

"The difference here is the volume," said Devine. "What used to be a sensitive, carefully considered high-risk decision, is now a knee-jerk reaction, and that’s what’s scary."