Reuters, April , Washington - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated on Tuesday that the US will keep looking for the source of the latest alleged secret document leak.
More than 50 of the "Secret" and "Top Secret" documents that originally surfaced on social media in March and purportedly provide information about some U.S. partners and enemies' military capabilities have been examined by Reuters.
The validity of the papers has not been independently confirmed by Reuters.
Austin stated during a news conference at the State Department, "We will keep looking into this and turn over every stone until we uncover the source of this and the breadth of it.
The Pentagon was aware that papers dated February 28 and March 1 had been placed online, according to Austin, the first senior U.S. official to remark on the leak. However, Austin was unsure if there were more records that had previously been online.
Austin continued, "These are things that we will learn as we continue to examine.
In a subsequent speech at Rice University in Texas, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns referred to the leaks as "deeply unfortunate," but he made no mention of the Pentagon and Justice Department investigations, which he described as "quite intense."
Burns added, "We need to learn from that as well about how we can strengthen processes.
Investigators are trying to identify who or what could have had the means and desire to make the intelligence information public. Since the 2013 release of tens of thousands of government papers on WikiLeaks, the disclosures may be the most devastating disclosure of material from the US government.
According to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters, Milancy Harris, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, is in charge of the Pentagon's investigation into the potential consequences of the exposed data.
The most sensitive material supposedly relates to the military prowess and deficiencies of Ukraine, and one paper emphasizes the little presence of Western special forces personnel there.
The release of the papers is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
Given the range of themes the papers address, several national security specialists and U.S. authorities say they believe the leaker may be an American. As the probe goes further, other hypotheses can emerge, they added.
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