The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into how classified military and intelligence documents ended up on social media. The Biden administration is examining the leak of more than 100 documents, some marked “Top Secret,” that began to appear on Discord in January. They later spread via 4Chan, Telegram and Twitter accounts.
The Department of Defense is continuing to review and assess the validity of the photographed documents that appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material. The Pentagon has referred the matter to the Department of Justice. The leak revealed a high level of panic among Pentagon leadership, and senior DOD officials restricted the flow of classified information with US allies.
The leaked documents focus on assessments of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but other intelligence reportedly focuses on China, terrorism, Iran’s nuclear program, the Middle East, North Korea’s missile program, central Africa and more. The leaks reveal certain capabilities, such as U.S. intelligence visibility into high-level Russian military planning, as well as the activities of the Wagner Group of mercenaries. The leaks also appear to reveal intelligence gathered by a new, advanced generation of U.S. infrared spy satellites about which little is known.
Experts say the Discord Leaks reveal highly secretive, “finished” intelligence assessments and may have been one of the four most significant intelligence leaks this century. It is possible that a US intelligence analyst leaked or lost the documents.
It is also suggested that Moscow might be tied to the leaks, or at least to subsequent attempts to capitalize on them. The Ukrainian government said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his top officials focused on measures to prevent the leakage of information regarding the plans of the defense forces of Ukraine, and a top Zelenskyy adviser suggested Russia is behind the leaks.
