WikiLeaks case : Pentagon seeks to prosecute whitstleblower site for illegally obtaining intel

Pentagon lawyers believe that whistleblower site WikiLeaks acted illegally in disclosing thousands of classified Afghanistan war reports as federal prosecutors are explore criminal charges.

Wikileaks released over 76,000 classified reports related to the Afghanistan war in late July that many have called the biggest and most indicting public disclosure of intelligence in U.S. military history. The whistleblower group’s founder Julian Assange described the shocking information as "the nearest analogue to the Pentagon Papers." The classified documents cover the Afghan war from 2004 through 2009.

The Defense and Justice departments are exploring legal options based on the grounds that WikiLeaks encouraged the theft of government property. Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Charles Johnson wrote in a letter this week to WikiLeaks defense counsel:

"It is the view of the Department of Defense that WikiLeaks obtained this material in circumstances that constitute a violation of United States law, and that as long as WikiLeaks holds this material, the violation of the law is ongoing.”

Investigators and government lawyers are looking to determine if WikiLeaks pressed army intelligence analyst Pfc. Bradley Manning to leak the Afghan war documents after the private provided the group with a classified Iraq video that showed a U.S. chopper killing 12 people including Reuters reporters.

It remains to be seen if WikiLeaks will be afforded the same legal protections as a traditional media outlet. The government may view WikiLeaks differently because of the way its website actively solicits classified material and promises leakers protection under law.

WikiLeaks announced it would leak another 15,000 Afghan war documents soon that include even more damaging intelligence. The Pentagon this week rebuffed a WikiLeaks request to help review the new documents to redact names that might compromise the identities of certain individuals who helped the U.S., especially Afghans who could be targeted by the Taliban for being spies.

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