The Washington Post revealed that the leaker of the Pentagon documents via the Discord communication platform is a young man in his mid-20s who worked at an American base and is fond of weapons and military uniforms.
The Washington Post revealed, on Thursday, information about the person who leaked classified documents to the Pentagon.
The newspaper published a brief interview with a member of the Discord forums for social networking, who identified himself as a "close friend" of the person who leaked the classified Pentagon documents.
On April 6, The New York Times reported that "classified" Pentagon documents had been leaked, focusing mainly on Russia's war in Ukraine.
The person who spoke to the American newspaper anonymously stated that the Pentagon leaker was a man in his mid-20s who loves guns and shares government secrets with members of a group on the site called "Thug Shaker Central".
He referred to the intended person as "OG", saying that he had known him for about four years, admired him a lot and considered him a "close friend".
The newspaper stated that the person who spoke to it was a "minor", noting that he said that he and another member of the group knew the real name of the person concerned and where he lived, "but would not tell law enforcement any information until the OG is arrested or flees the United States."
He explained that the document leaker "first started writing (the content) of confidential documents and publishing them in the group, but when members of the group ignored the confidential files, he got angry and started publishing pictures of the files on a weekly basis, starting from late last year," he said.
He added that whoever leaked the documents "is neither a Russian nor a Ukrainian agent, nor is he from the eastern part of the world."
"Any allegations that he is an agent or supporter of Russia are categorically false," he said.
He continued, "He is a very intelligent person and it is unlikely that he would not have known that the leaking of files was illegal."
On Monday, the Associated Press quoted an unnamed Pentagon spokesman confirming the authenticity of most of the leaked documents, saying they represented "a very serious threat to national security."
And Tuesday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, in a press conference, that those behind the leaks "were somewhere on the Internet, but we don't know where exactly and who had access to the documents, we simply don't know."
He added, "We will continue to investigate and search diligently until we find the source and extent of the leak," according to the agency.
Biden expresses his concern about the leaked documents, but does not see them as an imminent danger
US President Joe Biden expressed his "concern" about the leaking of classified US documents, but made it clear that he did not see an imminent danger in the matter. The US Justice Department opened a criminal investigation after documents were leaked online detailing Washington's views on the war in Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden expressed his "concern" Thursday about the leaking of classified US documents, but he does not see an imminent danger in what happened.
"I am concerned that this will happen," Biden told reporters after his meeting with Irish President Michael Higgins in Dublin.
He added that the "investigation is ongoing" and appears to be close to conclusions.
The US Justice Department opened a criminal investigation after documents leaked online detailing Washington's views on the war in Ukraine and implying that the United States was collecting intelligence on close allies.
The Pentagon considered the leak a "very serious" threat to the national security of the United States.
The US authorities have not yet publicly confirmed the authenticity of these images, which are circulated on various websites on the Internet, and their authenticity has not been independently verified.
The Washington Post reported that the leak was behind a young man who worked at a military base and published its information through a private group on the Internet.
And the young man, who called himself "OG" (OG) for months, published hundreds of pages of these documents after he transferred them from files at the military base where he works, according to the newspaper.
The documents published on the Internet reveal the concern of US intelligence about the ability of the Ukrainian army to launch a counterattack against the Russian forces, due to problems in training and supply.
A document seen by Agence France-Presse speaks of US concerns about Ukraine's ability to continue to defend itself against Russian strikes.
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