Report Claims to Have Identified Leaker of Classified Pentagon Documents

‘A man called OG’: Report claims to have identified the leaker of classified Pentagon documents

‘A MAN CALLED OG’: In a pixelated video interview shot in silhouette, a teenager tells the Washington Post that he knows the man who posted photographs of highly classified briefing slides to a small private group of video gamers on the internet platform Discord over a period of six to eight months.

The teenager, a minor, spoke to the Washington Post with the permission of his parents and told the newspaper he would only refer to the man as “OG” because he “cares for him like a family member,” and described him as his “best friend,” a “young charismatic man who loved nature, God, shooting guns and racing cars.”

“OG was not hostile to the U.S. government, however he had disagreed with several occasions such as Waco and Ruby Ridge and thought that the government is overreaching in several aspects,” the teenager said. “Of course there’s some anti-government sentiment but that’s not unlike most right wingers in the modern day and age.”

“He is not a Russian operative. He’s not a Ukrainian operative,” he said. “Any claims that he is a Russian operative or pro-Russian is categorically false. He is not interested in helping any foreign agencies with their attack on the U.S. or other countries.”

“In a video seen by The Post, the man who the member said is OG stands at a shooting range, wearing safety glasses and ear coverings and holding a large rifle,” the report said. “He yells a series of racial and antisemitic slurs into the camera, then fires several rounds at a target.”

MAN WHO LEAKED US INTELLIGENCE DOCUMENTS WORKED ON MILITARY BASE: REPORT

OG WAS LEAKING FOR MONTHS: One of the revelations in the Washington Post report is that the man called “OG” began posting intelligence to the small “clubhouse” called “Thug Shaker Central” on Discord for a long time before any documents went public.

It began with OG transcribing and retyping intelligence that he claimed he obtained from his job at a military base where he had access to a “secure facility that prohibited cellphones and other electronic devices, which could be used to document the secret information housed on government computer networks.”

The teenage member of the group said most of the gamers paid little attention to the initial postings, either not understanding or simply not interested in the revelations about a far-away war.

“It would appear as if he sort of grew angry with the fact that only one or two people were paying attention to these documents that he was pouring his heart out into and as a sign of just anger he just decided to post the full documents,” the teenager told the Washington Post.

“That’s when OG changed tactics,” the newspaper reported. “Rather than spend his time copying documents by keyboard, he took photographs of the genuine articles and dropped them in the server. These were more vivid and arresting documents than the plain text renderings. Some featured detailed charts of battlefield conditions in Ukraine and highly classified satellite images of the aftermath of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian electrical facilities.”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MULLS EXPANDING ONLINE SURVEILLANCE AFTER MISSING LEAK: REPORT

ENTER THE FBI: If he hasn’t already, the unnamed teenager can expect a visit from the FBI, which has been conducting a criminal investigation into the leak since the documents appeared on social media networks last week.

The Washington Post said the teenager’s account was corroborated by a second member of the Discord chat room who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Both members said they know OG’s real name as well as the state where he lives and works but declined to share that information while the FBI is hunting for the source of the leaks,” the newspaper said.

Discord, which describes itself as “a voice, video, and text chat app that’s used by tens of millions of people ages 13+ to talk and hang out with their communities and friends,” said it’s cooperating with law enforcement.

“In regards to the apparent breach of classified material, we are cooperating with law enforcement,” the statement said. “As this remains an active investigation, we cannot provide further comment at this time.”

The teenager told the Washington Post that he will not divulge OG’s identity or location to law enforcement until he is captured or can flee the United States. “I think I might be detained eventually. … I think there might be a short investigation on how I knew this guy and they’ll try to get something out of me. They might try to threaten me with prison time if I don’t reveal their identity,” he said.

“It is a lot on my shoulders and it’s very stressful,” he said. “No one wants to be a part of history in this type of way, especially someone as young as me being a part of something that’s possibly war changing, world changing, world altering. It’s something that no one should ever really have to go through if they’re unprepared for it.”

WESTERN FORCES HAVE ROUGHLY 100 TROOPS IN UKRAINE, CLASSIFIED LEAK REVEALS

Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Conrad Hoyt. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE

Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!

HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Latvian Defense Minister Inara Murniece at the Pentagon at 10:30 a.m.

The meeting comes a day after Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Austin and a week before the next meeting of the 50-plus member Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which will discuss future arms shipments to Ukraine.

“I’m confident that we will meet Ukraine’s defense needs through this spring and beyond,” Austin said. “And as the president has repeatedly made clear, we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

BEGGING FOR BETTER WEAPONS: Shmyhal was appropriately appreciative of all the arms and ammunition supplied by the West, but standing next to Austin again, he made a public plea for the kind of weapons that could truly turn the tide of battle.

“We will win this war, but to achieve it faster and with fewer casualties, Ukraine still needs intensive military support, more air defense systems that minimize the impact of Russian air strikes, more heavy artillery, mortars and ammunition for them,” Shmyhal said.

“To defend ourselves and defend Europe, we need more heavy equipment but also aircraft,” he pleaded. “In modern warfare, air superiority is crucial. … America can, once again, demonstrate its leadership by providing Ukraine with F-15 or F-16 aircrafts.”

“We also ask you to reconsider the possibility of providing Ukraine with longer-range missiles,” he said. “For our counterattack to be successful, we require an increase in such supplies.

UKRAINE MEETS WITH US ABOUT DEFENSE NEEDS AMID NATIONAL SECURITY LEAK FALLOUT

RUSSIA’S LATEST WAR CRIME: BEHEADING: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expressing outrage over a video judged too gruesome to show on television or to repost on social media that appears to show a Ukrainian soldier being killed by someone in a Russian uniform, who uses a knife to behead the victim.

Ukraine has launched a war crimes investigation into the video, which appears to have been filmed by Wagner mercenaries, along with other videos and photos that allegedly show the bodies of dead Ukrainian troops with their heads and hands cut off.

“A video of the brutal murder of our soldier by the occupiers was shared by Russian sources,” Zelensky said at a meeting of government ministers supporting Ukraine. “They are, in this video, proud with their ability to kill.”

“And you know, that Russian army tries to make this level of violence and atrocities a routine everywhere on Ukrainian soil. Every time when they do something like this, one gets shocked for the first time,” Zelensky said. “Deaths brought by Russia must not become a usual routine! The long story of Russian impunity must finally stop.”

UN INVESTIGATORS: BEHEADING VIDEO OF UKRAINIAN POW ‘NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT’

NORTH KOREA’S NEW MISSILE? Alarms sounded in northern Japan today as North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in a month. The missile, which observers said might be a newer solid-fuel ICBM, could mark an advance in North Korean missile technology.

Solid-fueled missiles are more mobile and harder to detect because they don’t have to be fueled on a launch pad, where they are vulnerable to a preemptive strike.

“The United States strongly condemns the DPRK for its test of a long-range ballistic missile. The president and his national security team are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners,” said NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson in a statement. “This launch is a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.”

The missile was launched on a high angle from a site near Pyongyang, traveling 620 miles before falling in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RESPONDS TO NORTH KOREA MISSILE TEST THAT THREATENED JAPAN

LIZ TRUSS: ‘TOO MUCH NAVEL-GAZING’: Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss is taking issue with the controversial comments that French President Emmanuel Macron made in an interview as he departed China after a three-day visit.

Among other things, Macron warned that Europe should not get “caught up in crises that are not ours,” suggesting it would not come to the aid of Taiwan if China were to invade the autonomously-governed island.

“I think that is completely wrong,” Truss said in an interview on Fox. “If President Xi successfully invades Taiwan, that would have a huge impact on the global economy, whether it’s on semiconductors, closing off shipping routes.”

“It would have a massive impact,” she said. “It would show that China and its authoritarian allies are on the march. And that is what we cannot allow to happen. The free world need to work together. We need to work with the United States, with the European Union.”

“We’re currently too reliant on China for cheap goods, and that is putting us in a position of danger. It’s feeding the Chinese economy, which is empowering them to threaten other countries in the neighborhood,” she added.

“If we are to succeed in winning against China and other authoritarian regimes around the world, we need strong economies and we need robust economies that are going to help achieve that. And, frankly, we spent too much time navel-gazing, too much time talking about our internal problems, rather than going out there, being successful, growing our economies, and taking on countries like China.”

OPINION: AMERICANS MUST RECOGNIZE THAT MACRON HAS CHOSEN CHINA

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: Man who leaked US intelligence documents worked on military base: Report

Washington Examiner: Biden administration mulls expanding online surveillance after missing leak: Report

Washington Examiner: Western forces have roughly 100 troops in Ukraine, classified leak reveals

Washington Examiner: Ukraine meets with US about defense needs amid national security leak fallout

Washington Examiner: Russia threatens to renew blockade of Ukraine’s grain

Washington Examiner: US imposes new sanctions on more than 120 people and entities for ties to Russia’s war

Washington Examiner: UN investigators: Beheading video of Ukrainian POW ‘not an isolated incident’

Washington Examiner: Top US hostage official calls for Russia to give consular access to detained reporter

Washington Examiner: Biden administration responds to North Korea missile test that threatened Japan

Washington Examiner: Esper accuses Biden of ‘trying to rewrite’ history on Afghanistan withdrawal

Washington Examiner: Opinion: Next week’s Senate UFO hearing should focus on government research, not Skinwalker Ranch

Washington Examiner: Opinion: Keep Space Force Command headquarters in Colorado

AP: US intelligence leak complicates summit with South Korea

Reuters: Taiwan Says It Convinced China To Rein In No-Fly Zone Plan

AP: China Warns as US, Philippines Stage Combat Drills

New York Times: Macron Stands By Comments On Taiwan, But Says France Backs Status Quo

Reuters: Germany Foreign Minister Embarks On Post-Macron ‘Damage Control’ In China Trip

Bloomberg: More Americans View China As ‘Enemy’ As Trust In Xi Deteriorates

Stars and Stripes: Air Force Eyes Moving Teams from Europe to the Western Pacific in a Hurry

19fortyfive.com: Is China Backing Off Iran?

Washington Post: U.S. Assessment: No Negotiations To End Ukraine War Expected This Year

Wall Street Journal: Russian Military Infighting Described

19fortyfive.com: Is the Russian Military Decapitating Living Soldiers in Ukraine?

Stars and Stripes: U.S. Forces Capture ISIS Operative, 2 Associates In Syria

Seapower Magazine: Marine Corps to Activate Second F-35C Squadron

19fortyfive.com: The F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter ‘Has No Claws’ – Many Aren’t Combat Ready

19fortyfive.com: Video Shows British Line Streets to Say Goodbye to Ukraine Soldiers

Air & Space Forces Magazine: US in ‘Focused’ Talks to Offer Multirole F-16s to Philippines

Air Force Times: Electronic Warfare Upgrades for F-16 Pass Emulator Testing

Air & Space Forces Magazine: Army, Air National Guard Need a Strategy for Better Helicopter Safety, GAO Says

Space News: Amid Commercial Boom, US Military Lacks Timely Access to Satellite Imagery

Air & Space Forces Magazine: Boneyard-Bound: USAF Retires First of 13 AWACS

Task & Purpose: Former Afghan Interpreter Graduates From Boot Camp To Become A Marine

NPR: A Navy Ship Named For A Confederate Victory Now Honors A Black Union Hero

Calendar

THURSDAY | APRIL 13

9:30 a.m. 419 Dirksen — U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing on “China’s Pursuit of Defense Technologies: Implications for U.S. and Multilateral Export Control and Investment Screening Regimes,” with Cordell Hull, visiting fellow at the National Security Institute; Martijn Rasser, managing director of Datenna Inc.; and Emily Kilcrease, director of the Energy, Economics and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security https://www.uscc.gov/hearings/chinas-pursuit-defense-technologies

10 a.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “Transactional or Strategic? The Future of Russo-Iranian Relations,” with Abdullah Baabood, visiting professor at Waseda University; Anna Borshchevskaya, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Mahmood Sariolghalam, nonresident scholar at MEI; and Alex Vatanka, director of the MEI’s Iran Program https://mei.edu/events/transactional-or-strategic-future-russo-iranian-relations

11 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “The role of digital economy in Ukraine’s reconstruction,” with Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov; and Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-role-of-digital-economy

11 a.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “Enabling the Mission of the New Triad: A Dispatch from Global Force 2023,” with Col. Pete Atkinson, chief of operations at the U.S. Army Space Division https://events.govexec.com/enabling-the-mission-of-the-new-triad/

11 a.m. — Georgetown University Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES) and the GU Walsh School of Foreign Service virtual discussion: “Will the War Change the Peace? A Military Analysis of Russia’s War on Ukraine,” with Dara Massicot, senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and former senior analyst for Russian military strategy and capabilities at the Defense Department https://www.georgetown.edu/event/russia-brief-will-the-war-change-the-peace

1:30 p.m. — National Defense Industrial Association virtual discussion: ”FY 2024 DoD Science and Technology Budget Priorities,” with Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu; Deputy Assistant Army Secretary for Research and Technology William “Willie” Nelson; Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin Selby; and Stefanie Tompkins, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency https://www.ndia.org/events/2023/4/13/fy24-dod-s-and-t-budget-priorities

5 p.m. 1761 Business Center Dr., Reston, Va. — Institute of World Politics lecture: “The Myths and Realities of the 1968 Tet Offensive,” with James Robbins, senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council https://www.iwp.edu/events/the-myths-and-realities-of-the-1968-tet-offensive/

FRIDAY | APRIL 14

9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The Future of Western Aid to Ukraine,” with Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Dereck Hogan https://www.csis.org/events/future-western-aid-ukraine-conversation

10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Russia, Ukraine, and the Struggle for Democracy,” with Anne Applebaum, staff writer for the Atlantic; and Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at CEIP https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/04/14/carnegie-connects

11 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Constraining Russia’s War Economy: Lessons from Lithuania,” with Lithuanian Minister of Finance Gintare Skaiste https://www.hudson.org/events/constraining-russias-war-economy

2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Sanctions and Russia’s Defense Industry,” with Samuel Bendett, adviser on Russia studies at the Center for Naval Analyses; Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow at the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program; Paul Schwartz, nonresident senior associate at the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program; and Max Bergmann, director of the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program https://www.csis.org/events/sanctions-and-russias-defense-industry

2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “The US-South Korea alliance at 70,” with U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg; followed by a panel discussion with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Multilateral Affairs Jung Pak https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-us-rok-alliance-at-70

MONDAY | APRIL 17

1 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “The US Congress and national security,” with Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-us-congress-national-security

TUESDAY | APRIL 18

9:30 a.m. 2154 Rayburn — House Oversight and Accountability Select Coronavirus Pandemic Subcommittee hearing: “Investigating the Origins of COVID-19, Part 2: China and the Available Intelligence,” with testimony from John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence; and David Feith, former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/investigating-the-origins-of-covid-19

2 p.m. 2200 Rayburn — House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Indo-Pacific hearing: “Surrounding the Ocean: PRC Influence in the Indian Ocean,” with testimony from Darshana Baruah, fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Jeffrey Payne, research fellow, National Defense University; and Nilanthi Samaranayake, research program director, Center for Naval Analyses https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/surrounding-the-ocean

WEDNESDAY | APRIL 19

3 p.m. — Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center virtual forum: “Strategic Nuclear Threats from U.S. Adversaries,” with Anthony Cordesman, emeritus chair in strategy, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Adam Lowther, director, Strategic Deterrence Programs, National Strategic Research Institute; Evan Montgomery, senior fellow and director, research and studies, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments; and John Swegle, former senior advisory scientist, Savannah River National Laboratory https://www.eventbrite.com/e/strategic-nuclear-threats

THURSDAY | APRIL 20

12 p.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual discussion of recent paper: “Striking Back: Iran and the Rise of Asymmetric Drone Warfare in the Middle East,” with author, retired Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, former commander, U.S. Central Command; Valerie Lincy, executive director, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control; and Damien Spleeters, deputy director of operations at Conflict Armament Research

Read More From Original Article Here: Report Claims to Have Identified Leaker of Classified Pentagon Documents