Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to leaking highly classified military documents related to Russia’s war in Ukraine and other national security secrets.
Nearly a year after his arrest in the most serious national security breach in years, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of knowingly retaining and transmitting defense information under the Espionage Act.
The shocking leak has raised concerns about the United States’ ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to protect classified information and disciplined members who deliberately failed to take necessary action against Teixeira’s questionable behavior.
Teixeira, 22, admitted illegally collecting military secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord, a social media platform popular with people who play online games. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors planned to seek nearly 17 years in prison.
Teixeira was a member of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, where he served as a network transmission systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks.
Authorities said he first printed out classified documents he had access to and then began sharing photos of the documents marked secret and top secret. The leak exposed the world’s thinly veiled and secret assessment of Russia’s war in Ukraine, other countries’ capabilities and geopolitical interests, and other national security issues.
An Air Force official said Teixeira remains in the Air National Guard without pay.
Teixeira has been in jail since his arrest in April. A judge rejected his request to be released from prison last year after prosecutors revealed he had a history of violent rhetoric and warned that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in digging up information about Teixeira could help him escape.
Prosecutors have revealed little about a motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone who wanted to show off rather than be motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or influence U.S. policy.
Prosecutors said Teixeira continued to leak government secrets even after his superiors warned him about his mishandling and improper viewing of classified information. At one point, Teixeira was seen jotting down intelligence information and placing it in his pocket.
The Air Force inspector general found that members “intentionally failed to report the full details of Teixeira’s unauthorized intelligence seeking” because they believed security officials may have overreacted. For example, while Teixeira was confronted about the notes, no follow-up was taken to ensure the notes were shredded and the incident was not reported to security officials.
It wasn’t until an incident in January 2023 that relevant security officials were notified, but even then, security officials were not informed of the full scope of the breach.
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