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U.S. prosecutors probing leak of CIA
materials to WikiLeaks: sources
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 [March 18, 2017]
By Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors
in Alexandria, Virginia, have expanded a long-running grand jury
investigation into WikiLeaks to include the leak of Central Intelligence
Agency documents to the website, a source familiar with the inquiry
said.
The source, who is familiar with the investigation and requested
anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said the probe is focused on
who leaked descriptions and technical information on techniques and
tools the CIA has used to eavesdrop on intelligence targets to the
website.
U.S. agencies have made only vague public comments on the latest
WikiLeaks disclosures, but security and law enforcement officials
familiar with the investigation said in the wake of the leaks that it is
focused on whether an intelligence contractor was responsible. At this
point, they said, investigators do not think Russia or another foreign
government was involved.
U.S. officials have confirmed that Alexandria-based prosecutors have
been conducting a federal grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks and
its sources. Some court documents on elements of the inquiry have been
made public.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment, as did a spokesman for
the CIA, which has not publicly confirmed the authenticity of the
material made public by WikiLeaks.
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The logo of the Wikileaks website is pictured on a smartphone in
this picture illustration taken in Tokyo November 29, 2010.
REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
The website said the material it published comprised thousands of pages
of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques and the use of
popular products such as Apple Inc iPhones; Google Inc Android devices;
and Samsung Electronics television sets to spy on people.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said his website would provide
technology companies with access to the CIA hacking tools it
acquired, enabling the companies to patch software vulnerabilities.
(Reporting By Mark Hosenball; Editing by John Walcott and Bernard
Orr)
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