President Joe Biden appeared to suggest Thursday that the US government is close to identifying the leaker responsible for the disclosure of sensitive government secrets posted to social media.
“There’s a full-blown investigation going on, as you know,” Biden said when asked for comment about the leaks. “The intelligence community and the Justice Department. And they’re getting close. I don’t have an answer for you.”
Biden was speaking in Dublin, where he is meeting the Irish president. It was the first time he commented on the leak.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the person behind the leak worked on a military base and posted sensitive national security secrets in an online group of acquaintances.
The leaker is described in the Post story as a lonely young man and gun enthusiast who was part of a chatroom of about two dozen people on Discord – a social media platform popular with video gamers – that shared a love of guns and military gear, according to a friend of the alleged leaker the Post interviewed who was also part of the group.
The friend told the Post he would not reveal the identity of the alleged leaker, who goes by the moniker “OG,” or their location to authorities.
Biden said he was concerned about the fact the leaks happened, but not necessarily about their content.
“I’m not concerned about the leak. I’m concerned that it happened, but there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of any consequence.”
The leaked documents posted to social media, some of which have been obtained by CNN, include detailed intelligence assessments of allies and adversaries alike, including on the state of the war in Ukraine and the challenges both Kyiv and Moscow face as the war appears stuck in a stalemate in the months ahead.
The Pentagon has begun to…
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