Washington: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has put at risk the interest of the US and other countries and endangered lives of people by releasing some classified documents, the Obama Administration said on Thursday.
"We believe that what Assange has done in the aftermath of that leak has put the interests of our country and others at risk, and put the lives of people who are reflected in these documents at risk. We haven't changed our view," State Department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters at his daily news conference.
Responding to a question, he agreed with the statement of Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd that primary responsibility for the leak existed within the US government.
"We have acknowledged that. It was somebody within our government, you know, sworn under oath to protect the Constitution, who violated that oath. We have an individual under arrest, and that person will be held accountable, you know, for what we consider is a crime under US law," he said.
Crowley said there is an ongoing investigation in this regard.
"There is an ongoing investigation within the United States government on this case, and we have reached no conclusions as to who beyond one individual is responsible," he said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has had a range of conversations with world leaders, he said.
"I'm not aware that any of those conversations, whether with (Australian) Foreign Minister Rudd or any other leader focused on prosecution Assange.
"She has had a consistent message to world leaders -- some on the phone, some in person -- demonstrating our commitment to continue to work on -- work with countries on our mutual interests," Crowley said.
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