FBI investigating leaker of national security information

The FBI has an open investigation into at least one person believed to be leaking national security information, CBS News has confirmed.

The suspect is allegedly the unnamed source who provided the online publication The Intercept with classified documents about the federal government's Terrorist Screening Database, a watch list of "known terrorist suspects." In August, The Intercept reported that more than 40 percent of people on the list are described as having "no recognized terrorist group affiliation." The secret documents also revealed that the government is covertly collecting biometric information -- such as facial images, fingerprints and iris scans -- about individuals on a larger classified watchlist called the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE).

The Intercept made a splash in the past year by publishing reports based on the documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. However, the leaker currently under investigation for The Intercept's latest report is not believed to be working with or tied to Snowden.

At least one search related to the investigation has been carried out in the Washington,D.C. metro area, according to a federal official.