We're in the best of hands. (Updated)
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Update: They’ve arrested him. As thought, a 21-year-old and a handful of teenagers. Jesus.
Leaker who posted top secret Pentagon documents 'works at a military base and is in his 20s'
The man who leaked a trove of U.S. military and intelligence documents from the fall of 2022 until mid March this year has been described by those who knew him
The man behind the most significant leak of classified documents in a decade is a 20-something video game and gun enthusiast who worked at a secure military site, according to a report, and shared the files in a chat room with a group of around 20 like-minded young people.
Two members of the chat room, known as 'Thug Shaker Central', described to The Washington Post the person who had shared the documents.
'He's fit. He's strong. He's armed. He's trained. Just about everything you can expect out of some sort of crazy movie,' one of the members said.
He described him as 'a young, charismatic man who loves nature, God, shooting guns and racing cars.'
Amid an intense search for the source of the leaks, The Washington Post reported they had seen video and photos of the man, as well as recordings of his interactions with members of the group.
In a video seen by The Post, the man is seen at a shooting range with a large rifle, wearing safety glasses and ear coverings. The man looks into the camera and yells racial and antisemitic insults, then fires multiple rounds at a target.
The two chat room members told The Washington Post they expected the leaker to be caught, but denied he was an Edward Snowden-type whistleblower.
Instead, they said, he was sharing the documents with his group of friends, believing they may find them interesting, and 'wanting us to be super soldiers'.
'If you had classified documents, you'd want to flex at least a little bit, like hey, I'm the big guy,' the member said.
'There is a little bit of showing off to friends, but as well as wanting to keep us informed.'
The documents included analyses of Ukraine's military campaign; revelations that the U.S. spied on the leaders of Ukraine and South Korea, among others; and insight from within Russia's military intelligence agency. Other documents showed U.S. concern about Egypt potentially supplying Russia with weapons, and detailed U.S. efforts to spy on Iran's secret weapons programs. They also discussed nuclear weapons.
'If your tax dollars are funding these atrocities, then we should be able to know about it,' the member said.
The two members of 'Thug Shaker Central' referred to the leaker as 'OG' - slang for Original Gangster.
Both said they know his real name, and in which state he lives and works, but refused to say.
They said he was older than them, aged in his early to mid 20s.
But not to worry:
Biden breaks silence on Pentagon docs leak: President insists he's 'not concerned' because top secret information is 'old' and there's 'full-blown' investigation into 'military base leaker in his 20s who been leaking online since last year'
This from the man who, despite lying to America and insisting that “we learned about (the search] in the newspapers” actually instigated and initiated the search of Mar-a-Lago to look for outdated, confidential documents.
There may be a difference between the President of the United States, who is entitled by law to handle the very most secret information, and who has the power to classify and declassify that information as he sees fit, and a low-level soldier getting his hand on top-secret documents, folding them up and stuffing them in his pocket and strolling out unimpeded from a Secure Room. Certainly, Biden sees a difference: the first is a felony, the latter is just youthful hijinks of no consequence. As I said, the best of hands.
