The Department of Defense has formed a team to carry out its own investigation to determine the authenticity of the purported classified documents containing information on the Ukraine war and intercepted communications and other intelligence on U.S. allies that appeared online, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Chris Meagher, a spokesman for DOD, said Defense Secretary and 2023 Wash100 awardee Lloyd Austin is overseeing the Pentagon inquiry, which includes senior military officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and officers from legislative affairs, public relations and defense policy teams.
“This team is really working to get our arms around everything that has to do with this distribution,” Meagher told reporters Monday.
“It’s assessing the national security implications; it’s making sure that we’re engaging with members of Congress; and it’s making sure we’re engaging with allies and partners,” he added.
According to WSJ, the Department of Justice and the FBI are also conducting a criminal investigation into the leaked documents.
The agencies’ move comes as the U.S. government engages with allies to address the diplomatic fallout from the leaked files.
“Those conversations began over the weekend and are ongoing,” Meagher said.
