According to CNN, this has convinced the U.S. government there is a new leaker within its ranks ? a second Edward Snowden-type with access to closely held national security secrets and the intention to make them public.

If the CNN report is true, the U.S. government is convinced the leaks that appeared on The Intercept include information that post-dates whatever Snowden once had access to. It also validates earlier speculation that there is an additional well-positioned leaker of national security secrets.

As U.S. News and World Report recounted in early July, there was abundant evidence that NSA-related leaks appearing in two German newspapers did not seem to come from Snowden's cache of documents. Greenwald responded to the revelations by tweeting that it "seems clear" there's a second leaker within the U.S.' national security apparatus.