As the FBI works to hunt down the author of the leak of secret US documents (if he hasn't already done so), journalists from The Washington Post and the Bellingcat portal have spoken with members of the Internet forum where the person in question shared classified information. It is about a twenty-something, racist and fond of weapons, who worked in a military base and called himself 'OG' (Original Gangster).
According to one of the users to the Post, a teenager under 18 years of age who also describes himself as a friend of the leaker, about twenty young people who shared a passion for weapons, military objects and religion, created a select group within Discord, an instant messaging platform popular among video game players, in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic.
Everything indicates that the intention of 'OG', who was the oldest member of the group, was to show off to the other members of the chat, who admired him, but also to keep them informed. "He is an intelligent person. He knew what he was doing, of course," explains one of the users, a teenager under 18 years of age, who rejects the possible hypothesis of the accident. He once got angry because they did not pay enough attention to the photos he leaked.
The newspaper had access to 300 photographs of classified documents as well as images and videos of the leaker himself. In one of them, "OG" is seen at a shooting range with a large rifle, where he shouts racist and anti-Semitic insults before pulling the trigger, the investigation details. "He is fit. He is strong. He is armed. He is trained," says the user, whose identity has been protected.
As the days go by, more evidence appears that rules out that the leak was the result of an intelligence operation orchestrated by a State with the aim of discrediting the United States. Rather, it points to a consequence of the Pentagon's own policy granting top-secret security clearances to large numbers of employees.
The Justice Department is investigating what is estimated to be the most damaging release of classified US information in years, while the Pentagon, which has opened its own investigation, assesses the damage done to national security and relations with allies and other countries, including Ukraine. Much of the data concerns critical and confidential details of the development of the war in Eastern Europe, but also data on North Korea or China's spy balloon.
Discord announced yesterday that it was cooperating with law enforcement. The leak of secrets also splashed the online messaging forum 4Chan, the encrypted messaging application Telegram and the social network Twitter.
Regarding the motivations of 'OG' to carry out their actions, in addition to the desire to appear privileged and informed before the group, there was also a perceived disdain for the federal government. But his friend does not believe that he was acting in the public interest when he decided to expose the secrets, since they were intended only for the enjoyment of his virtual gang. He thus dismisses comparisons with Edward Snowden, a former employee of the US Security and Intelligence agencies, who shared a wealth of classified data on government surveillance efforts with journalists.
This 'OG' communicated for the last time in the chat, now closed, a few days ago once the whole cake was discovered and he seemed to be quite distraught and not knowing how to resolve the situation. "He is fully aware of what is happening and what the consequences may be," his friend tells the Post.
The hypothesis that points to the desire to show off as the motivation for the leak was one of the conclusions reached by the investigation published a few days ago by Bellingat. After speaking with three members of the small group, the report revealed that secret information had been circulating online for months.
