CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Saturday said the rate of intelligence leaks has "accelerated," attributing the trend to the "worship of Edward Snowden" and to WikiLeaks.

"In some ways, I do think it's accelerated," Pompeo said of intel disclosures during an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt on his new MSNBC program.

"I think there is a phenomenon, the worship of Edward Snowden, and those who steal American secrets for the purpose of self-aggrandizement or money or for whatever their motivation may be, does seem to be on the increase," he added.

Snowden leaked thousands of government documents in 2013 that shed light on the extent of the U.S. government's surveillance apparatus. WikiLeaks has also become a popular website known for it's document dumps of classified information, with it recently publishing nearly 8,000 documents that it says reveal secrets about the CIA's cyberespionage tools for breaking into computers.

Earlier this month, Reality Leigh Winner, 25, of Augusta, Georgia, became the first alleged leaker during the Trump administration to be arrested on charges of turning over a secret document to a news organization.

Pompeo said that the Trump administration is focused on "stopping leaks, of any kind, from any agency, and when they happen, pursuing them with incredible vigor."

He added that he's "counting on" leakers being stopped and punished soon.

"It's tough. You now have not only nation states trying to steal our stuff, but non-state, hostile intelligence services, well-funded -- folks like WikiLeaks, out there trying to steal American secrets for the sole purpose of undermining the United States and democracy," Pompeo said.




Politico