Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed on April 11 to “investigate and turn over every rock” to find who was behind the leaking of Pentagon documents.
“We take this very seriously and we will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it,” he said during a press conference at the State Department following a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, and Philippine Officer in Charge of the Department of National Defense Carlito Galvez.
“Now, I can’t say much more while the Justice Department’s investigation is ongoing. But we take this very seriously,” added Austin. “And we will continue to work closely with our outstanding allies and partners. And nothing will ever stop us from keeping America secure.”
Austin said he was first briefed of the leak of documents on April 6. Since then, he said, he has “been convening senior department leaders daily on our response, and I’ve directed an urgent cross-department effort and we’ve referred the matter to [Department of Justice] DOJ.”
Austin said the focus of the Pentagon probe into the leaking relates to documents dated Feb. 28 and March 1.
“We will continued to investigate and try to determine the full scope of the activity,” he said.
The Pentagon announced on April 9 that an interagency probe is underway.
“An interagency effort has been stood up, focused on assessing the impact these photographed documents could have on U.S. national security and on our Allies and partners,” said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh in a statement. “Over the weekend, U.S. officials have engaged with Allies and partners and have informed relevant congressional committees of jurisdiction about the disclosure.”
The New York Times first reported on the leaking. Other outlets have since followed suit.
Despite the reports in the press about the leak, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the media should not be reporting on the contents of the leaked documents.
“This is information that has no business in the public domain,” he said during the April 10 White House press briefing.
“It has no business—if you don’t mind me saying—on the pages of … front pages of newspapers or on television,“ he added. ”It is not intended for public consumption and it should not be out there.”
