Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira to be sentenced for violating Espionage Act

Former Massachusetts Air Nationwide Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who admitted he illegally posted delicate navy info to on-line chat rooms in what prosecutors referred to as one of many “most prolific” and “uncommon” authorities leak operations, is ready to be sentenced in a Boston courtroom on Tuesday. 

Teixeira, a 22-year-old Massachusetts native, pleaded responsible in March to 6 counts of violating the Espionage Act, acknowledging he was behind the yearlong distribution of dozens of categorized authorities paperwork — together with some marked “high secret” — on Discord, a social media platform. The categorized paperwork concerned within the leak touched on a variety of delicate points, however probably the most notable had been about Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, detailed troop actions and timelines for Western weapons deliveries to the war-torn nation, investigators stated. 

Federal regulation enforcement arrested Teixeira at his household’s Massachusetts residence after a weekslong probe into how delicate Pentagon information had been ending up on-line.

Prosecutors have requested a federal decide to condemn the defendant to 200 months in jail — nearly 17 years — for his central function in “some of the important and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American historical past,” one which has prompted reforms within the dealing with of categorized info. 

“The hurt the defendant induced to the nationwide safety from his disclosures of nationwide protection info is extraordinary,” prosecutors wrote in an October courtroom submitting.

For over a yr, investigators stated Teixeira, who had high secret safety clearance as an IT employee on the Otis Air Nationwide Guard Base,accessed the categorized paperwork illegally and both hand-copied the knowledge or printed the information earlier than posting the information within the Discord chat rooms. He even messaged people in his boards and supplied to search out particular details about “happenings that pertain to your nation,” courtroom information stated. 

The nationwide protection info started showing on-line in February 2022, however investigators did not hyperlink the leaks to Teixeira for over a yr. Prosecutors alleged Teixeira knew his conduct was unlawful and accused him of violating his oath to serve. 

Because the investigation into the leaks zeroed in on Teixeira’s unit, prosecutors alleged in earlier courtroom paperwork that Teixeira started instructing others within the Discord group to “delete all messages.” 

“[i]f anybody comes wanting, do not inform them sh**,” he allegedly wrote to at least one person. And he informed one other, “Attempt to delete all my messages in civil discussions.” 

“Within the mixture, the defendant’s felony conduct over the course of greater than a yr ‘critically and negatively impacted’ the Division of Protection’s mission, endangered his fellow troopers, different residents, and allied governments all through the world,” prosecutors argued final month, urging the decide to impose a heavy sentence. 

Teixeira’s protection legal professional, nonetheless, requested for a sentence of 11 years in jail, telling the decide, “His intent was by no means to hurt america,” however to “educate his pals about world occasions to make sure they weren’t misled by misinformation.” 

Revealing that Teixeira was identified with autism, his lawyer wrote in an October courtroom submitting that “his motives and selections had been naïve, not nefarious.” Teixeira accepted accountability for the admitted crimes, together with by collaborating in an hourslong briefing with members of the intelligence group, the protection filings argued.

“The actions of Jack Teixeira are inexcusable,” the legal professional wrote, describing his shopper not as a felony leaker however as a misguided younger individual swept up in an internet ecosystem. “Nevertheless, Jack remains to be basically a baby – on the very least, a ‘youthful offender’ – who has his entire life in entrance of him.” 

Following Teixeira’s arrest, the Air Power inspector basic discovered that people in his Massachusetts unit didn’t take correct motion after not less than 4 separate safety incidents. Members of his unit “enabled” the leaks by not correctly supervising his entry to categorized info, the overview concluded. The Air Nationwide Guard took motion in opposition to 15 people for “dereliction within the efficiency of duties” on account of the report’s findings. 

Texeira additionally faces expenses of disobeying orders and obstructing justice in a navy courtroom martial, that are anticipated to be adjudicated in March. 

Eleanor Watson contributed to this report. 

In:
• Jack Teixeira
• United States Division of Protection