Informant: WikiLeaks suspect had civilian help

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - An Army private charged with leaking classified material to the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks had civilian help, a key figure in the case said yesterday.

The development, first reported in The New York Times, suggests an expansion of the government's investigation into leaks including more than 76,900 secret Afghanistan war records posted on WikiLeaks in the past week.

Army and FBI officials didn't immediately return calls and e-mails from The Associated Press asking if they are looking at possible civilian accomplices of Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, who's charged under military law with leaking classified material.

Adrian Lamo, the Sacramento, Calif.-based computer hacker who turned in Manning to military authorities in May, claimed in a phone interview yesterday he had firsthand knowledge that someone helped Manning set up encryption software to send classified information to WikiLeaks.

Lamo, who's cooperating with investigators, wouldn't name the person but said the man was among a group of people in the Boston area who work with WikiLeaks. He said the man told him "he actually helped Private Manning set up the encryption software he used." Lamo said the software enabled Manning to send classified data in small bits so that it would seem innocuous. He said Manning sent the data to get the attention of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Assange didn't immediately respond to an e-mailed query from AP about Lamo's claim.

Also yesterday, a New York Times reporter who has been the newspaper's liaison with Assange, dismissed Assange's claim that WikiLeaks had offered to let U.S. government officials go through leaked documents to ensure that no innocent people were identified.

Manning is awaiting possible trial on 12 offenses.