US will ‘turn over every rock’ to find who leaked classified military documents: Lloyd Austin
- Defence Secretary Austin said his department takes the matter ‘very seriously’ as Washington sought to reassure allies about its ability to keep secrets safe
- The secret documents, which appeared online in recent weeks, revealed information on a range of topics, including Ukraine’s battle plans
“We take this very seriously,” Austin told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday. “And we will continue to investigate, and turn over every rock, until we find the source of this and the extent of it.”
Austin said he was first briefed on April 6 about what he called “reports of unauthorised disclosure of sensitive and classified material” compiled by the Defence Department. In the days since, the Justice Department has opened an investigation and the US has sought to reassure allies about its ability to keep secrets safe.
Austin had no answer when pressed on why the documents were on the web for more than a month before US officials discovered them, repeating that the leak is still under investigation.
The secret documents, which appeared on social media sites in recent weeks, reveal information on a range of topics, from US assessments of the war in Ukraine to intelligence gathered on diplomatic allies.
