White House asks press to downplay leak of US dirt on allies — fears more coming
WASHINGTON — White House spokesman John Kirby urged reporters Monday to play down leaks of classified records pertaining to Ukraine, Israel, South Korea and other countries — and warned more secrets may be released as a result of the “nightmare” US cybersecurity debacle.
Kirby said at the White House briefing that some of the documents, which indicate US surveillance of close allies, are “doctored” — without specifying which ones.
He also claimed others might contain real but sensitive information unsuitable for publication on the “front pages of newspapers or on television.”
“We don’t know who’s responsible for this. And we don’t know if they have more than they intend to post. So we’re watching this and monitoring it as best we can,” said Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications
“But the truth and the honest answer to your question is, we don’t know. And is that a matter of concern to us? You’re darn right it is.”
He also said, “Without confirming the validity of the documents, this is information that has no business in the public domain. It has no business, if you don’t mind me saying, on the pages of — the front pages of newspapers or on television. It is not intended for public consumption, and it should not be out there.”
In another recommendation for coverage, the Biden administration spokesman said, “We urge all of you to be very careful about how you report on his story, since we know at least in some cases, that information was doctored.”
Some of the most damaging documents described Ukraine’s military vulnerabilities in the war against Russia — with an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling CNN that specific leaked details forced the country to change military plans ahead of an anticipated counteroffensive.
The documents also mention Zelensky’s interest in launching military attacks inside Russia, which the documents said could be used by China as a pretext to arm Moscow.
In addition, documents also contain pot-stirring details damaging to the US relationships with Israel and South Korea.
One document attributed to the CIA says that Israel’s Mossad spy agency has been stoking large protests by secular Israelis against the government of conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office slammed the report as “mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever.”
Another document reveals South Korean qualms about an American request to send ammunition to the US for use in Ukraine.
Seoul has a policy against arming foreign nations at war.
Spying on friendly governments can cause significant rifts.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in 2013 that US-German relations were “severely shaken” by whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelation that the US was monitoring her phone calls for many years.
The revelation sparked a security revamp at the German embassy in Washington and triggered long-running hard feels, as subsequent leaks revealed other German political figures were under US surveillance, allegedly with Danish help.
US leaders at times vaguely suggest that leaked information may be false as a tactic to squelch conversation.
Biden administration officials previously pressured social media companies to censor political debate about COVID-19 policies such as lockdowns and vaccine mandates by arguing minority viewpoints were “disinformation.”
As a candidate, Biden falsely claimed documents from his son Hunter Biden’s laptop were Russian misinformation. Those documents showed Joe Biden’s links to Chinese and Ukrainian business relationships and later gained substantial corroboration from witnesses and other records.
