FBI chief Robert Mueller today announced that his bureau is assisting in the Pentagon’s investigation of Sunday’s massive leak of classified data on the Afghan War. Officials say that the Justice Department is also involved.
According to Pentagon officials, the probe is focusing at the moment on Pfc. Bradley Manning, an Army intelligence analyst arrested earlier in the month for a previous leak to the WikiLeaks whistleblower site. The Pentagon is also said to be looking at those in the military who may have put Manning in touch with WikiLeaks in the first place.
Manning was arested in June for his apparent role in the leaking of a video showing a US military helicopter killing Iraqi civilians. WikiLeaks has insisted that they have no way of confirming who sent them any information, and military officials have likewise suggested that it is possible that someone other than Manning is responsible for the latest leaks, though he remains the primary suspect.
Sunday’s leak included some 92,000 classified documents. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange announced Monday that the group has another 15,000 documents to release pending review, a fact he confirmed again today on Antiwar Radio.