Officials from the FBI and Navy are investigating the role a pro-Russia social media account had in spreading photos of classified US documents online – and have contacted a former Navy noncommissioned officer who was affiliated with the account, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN.
The investigation arose after a Telegram account called Donbass Devushka, which has more than 70,000 subscribers and describes itself as “Russian-style information warfare,” on April 5 reposted photos on Telegram of apparently classified US intelligence related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Sarah Bils, the former Navy officer, confirmed to CNN on Monday that she was one of multiple administrators of the Donbass Devushka Telegram account, but said she did not re-post the classified information and had no connection to the leaks. Someone else administering the Telegram account re-posted the photos, according to Bils, who said she later “personally deleted” the post.
Bils told The Wall Street Journal that she is one of 15 people “all over the world” involved in running the Donbass Devushka social media accounts.
Neither the details nor the extent of the investigation were clear. When CNN asked the Naval Criminal Investigative Service whether it’s investigating Bils, NCIS spokesperson Jeff Houston said: “I confirm that NCIS is continuing to work jointly with the Department of Justice on this investigation,” and referred CNN to the Department of Justice.
The FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment.
The FBI spoke with Bils and, she told CNN in an email, the bureau knows “I had nothing to do with those leaks.” The bureau is also involved, she added, because “there have been various threats against myself and my home.”
The photos of classified documents reposted by the Donbass Devushka Telegram account were…
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