A former ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush thinks that if the Trump administration wants to start using lie detectors they should start with the White House press secretary.

“The place will light up like a disco!” Richard Painter tweeted on Friday night.

Kellyanne wants lie detectors in the White House? Try one on the press secretary podium. The place will light up like a disco! — Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) August 5, 2017

ADVERTISEMENT

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Friday the Justice Department might consider using lie detector tests to find out who has been leaking information to media from within the Trump administration.

“They may, they may not,” she told Fox News. “There are many different ways to discover who is leaking.”

Her remark followed Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status White House officials voted by show of hands on 2018 family separations: report MORE announcing a government-wide crackdown on leakers. Leaks have plagued the administration since Trump took office, often releasing damaging information to the press.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the new White House press secretary, this week pledged she would not lie from the podium.

“Absolutely not,” she said when asked during Wednesday’s press briefing. “I don't think it's appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place. ... My job is to communicate the president's agenda, the president's message and answer your questions on that as best that I can, as honestly as I can, and be as transparent as I can possibly be at any given moment.”

Painter has become a frequent critic of Trump’s administration and regularly tweets or appears on cable news to comment.