Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Douglas Teixeira was charged with federal crimes in U.S. District Court in Boston on Friday.
Teixeira was arrested Thursday in connection with the leak of classified military documents. After Friday's court appearance, he will be held until a hearing next Wednesday.
More than 100 U.S. documents were leaked. The files contained highly sensitive information tied to the war in Ukraine, includingdata on military activities such as U.S. drone spy planes in the area, and Ukrainian forces’ use of ammunition. They appear to show Ukrainian forces’ training and state of readiness, plus the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and equipment destroyed in the ongoing conflict.
How did President Biden react to Teixeira's arrest?
President Joe Biden, who is wrapping up a three-day trip to Ireland, praised the “rapid action” by law enforcement and said he’s trying to prevent such leaks from happening again.
“While we are still determining the validity of those documents, I have directed our military and intelligence community to take steps to further secure and limit distribution of sensitive information, and our national security team is closely coordinating with our partners and allies,” Biden said in a statement.
--Maureen Groppe, USA Today
AG Garland: ‘Not just about taking home documents’
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday the Pentagon documents leak is “not just about taking home documents.”
“This is about the transmission— both the unlawful retention and the transmission of the documents,” he said during a Department of Justice press conference. “…There are very serious penalties associated with that.”
Garland said individuals who sign agreements to receive classified documents acknowledge how important sharing classified information is to national security.
"We intend to send that message— how important it is to our national security,” he said.
--Rachel Looker, USA Today
What are the charges Teixeira faces in leaked Ukraine, Pentagon documents case?
Teixeira faces charges of unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, which holds a maximum sentence of 10 years, and removal and retention of classified documents, which is a maximum of five years.
As of February, Teixeira was in a position that required top secret security clearance. In order to be granted clearance, Teixeira would have had to sign a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement where he would have had to acknowledge that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information could result in criminal charges, according to the criminal complaint. He was granted clearance in 2021.
“There is probably cause to believe that Teixeira improperly and unlawfully retained and transmitted national defense information classified at the TS//SCI level to persons not authorized to receive information,” according to FBI Special Agent Patrick Lueckenhoff.
--Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA Today
How Jack Teixeira leaked documents from deep inside the Pentagon
Teixeira’s job – essentially a military IT tech – likely allowed him access to the trove of secret documents he’s alleged to have leaked because he would have been familiar with the Pentagon’s most secret-secure computer network, current and former officials said.
It's unlikely Teixeira would have been on the list of the hundreds of authorized recipients of secret assessments of the war in Ukraine, the battered Russian military or U.S. efforts to spy on adversaries, according to an administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
But on Sept. 30, Teixeira was mobilized for active duty with the 102nd Intelligence Wing. Even today, in federal custody, Teixeira remains active duty, according to Nahaku McFadden, a spokesperson for the National Guard Bureau.
While on active duty, his specialty of maintaining and safeguarding the Pentagon’s computer systems likely gave him access to the Joint Worldwide Communication, or JWICS, said Scott Murray, a retired Air Force colonel who specialized in intelligence.
Teixeira had access to the government documents that were posted on social media because of his top secret and secure compartmented information clearances working for the military, according to FBI Special Agent Patrick Lueckenhoff.
Teixeira accessed one of the documents in February 2023, about one day before it was posted on the internet, Lueckenhoff swore in an affidavit. On April 6, Teixeira used his government computer to search for classified intelligence reporting for the word “leak,” which suggested he was looking for information about the intelligence community was searching for him, Lueckenhoff said.
– Tom Vanden Brook and Bart Jansen, USA Today
No bail for Jack Teixeira, who will be held until court hearing next Wednesday
Jack Douglas Teixeira answered questions from Judge David H. Hennessy with a soft "yes, sir" in an otherwise silent courtroom Friday morning.
The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman will be held until a hearing next Wednesday. He financially qualifies for public counsel.
Teixeira is charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, which holds a maximum prison time of 10 years, and unauthorized willful retention and removal of classified documents, which is a maximum of 5 years.
His father called out "Love you, Jack" as Teixeira was cuffed again and led back out of the courtroom.
Teixeira's response was too quiet to hear.
-- Jeannette Hinkle, The Cape Cod Times
U.S. document leakHow Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old guard leaked documents from deep inside the Pentagon
Teixeira enters federal courtroom in Boston in leaked U.S. military document case.
Just after 10 a.m., Jack Douglas Teixeira came into the courtroom, wearing a tan jumpsuit, hands cuffed in front of him. Thin and wiry, with wide brown eyes, he looks almost childlike.
The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman could face 10 years maximum for just one of the charges he faces and five years for another.
-- Jeannette Hinkle, The Cape Cod Times
Why can’t the U.S. stop military and intelligence leaks?
First there was Army soldier Chelsea Manning and after that intelligence contractors Edward Snowden and Reality Winner. All of them were twenty-somethings charged with leaking highly classified documents they had access to as part of their government work and disclosing some of America's most closely guarded secrets.
On Thursday, federal authorities arrested yet another suspected young leaker of top-secret U.S. intelligence — Jack Teixeira, a low-ranking member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
Why do these kinds of damaging intelligence leaks keep happening? And perhaps more importantly, what can the U.S. military and intelligence establishment do to prevent it from happening again?
Experts, including former U.S. intelligence officials, told USA TODAY that there are no easy fixes to the problem. That's especially the case because of the vastness of the military and intelligence bureaucracy, which has literally millions of people – many of them independent contractors – with top-secret security clearances.
— Josh Meyer, USA Today
Judge David H. Hennessy to preside covering Friday's hearing
David H. Hennessy, federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, will preside over the hearing, expected to take place at 10 a.m., according to U.S. District Court Clerk Robert Farrell.
By 8 a.m., reporters were already starting to fill the wooden benches outside of a still-locked Courtroom 18, where the hearing will take place.Teixeira’s appearance is expected to draw attention around the globe, and court personnel have set aside a neighboring courtroom for media overflow.
Judge HennessyJudge Hennessy of Worcester court named chief magistrate judge
Who is Judge David H. Hennessy
Judge David H. Hennessy was appointed as the chief magistrate judge of theU.S. District Court of Massachusetts in 2017.
Hennessy is the ninth chief magistrate judge ofMassachusetts. Hennessy was appointed a U.S.magistrate judgeon May 6, 2013.
From 2008 to 2013, Hennessy served as the chief of the Worcester branch in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. While serving in the Worcesteroffice since July 1999, the cases hetried included violations of federal tax, gun, drug and child protection laws, federal court officials said.
At the time of this 2017 appointment, Chief Judge Patti B. Saris calledHennessy"an experienced magistrate judge, with extensive prior criminal litigation experience."
Leaked Pentagon documents'a deliberate criminal act'
Teixeiraoversaw a private Discord channel called Thug Shaker Central,according to multiple reports. The private chat group was comprised of about 20 to 30 people, mostly young men and teens, the reports say.
Stringent guidelines are in place toprotect classified informationand are under review, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. Everybody with a security clearance signs a non-disclosure agreement.
The leak, Ryder said, “was a deliberate criminal act.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is conducting daily meetings to review the scope and impact of the leaks and mitigation measures, Ryder said.
Classified Document Leak:Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira accused of leaking classified docs set to appear in court
Leaked Pentagon documents: What sensitive information was revealed?
The leaked documents appearto be highly sensitive reportstied to the war effort in Ukraine, includingdata on military activities like U.S. drone spy planes in the area and Ukrainian forces’ use of ammunition. They appear to show how the U.S. views Ukrainian forces’ training and state of readiness, plus the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and equipment destroyed in the ongoing conflict, as well.
More than 100 U.S. documents were leaked in all. The files also contained sensitive, classified information about the war in Ukraine, Russian military activity, China and the Middle East.
The federal government is expected to begin its case against Jack Teixeira in Boston today.
Seagulls circled above the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston at 7 a.m. Friday as a line of TV crews set up their cameras to capture the kick-off of the federal government’s case against Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard airman arrested in Dighton yesterday for allegedly leaking classified military documents containing sensitive intelligence to friends on the internet.
The morning sun not yet risen, a security stood guard in the shadows of the sprawling brick courthouse in the city’s Seaport District while journalists across the street gave their morning news reports.
The young defendant, now at the center of a scandal that has upset U.S. allies and raised serious questions about the future of the war in Ukraine, will face an initial appearance in court today, according to U.S. District Court Clerk Robert Farrell.
So far, court officials have been tight-lipped about the time of the hearing, but by 8 a.m., reporters were already starting to fill the benches outside of Courtroom 18, where Farrell said the hearing will take place.
Dighton, Massachusetts:This small town is in national spotlight. Here's what residents say about the town
What charges could Jack Teixeira face?
What charges Teixeira will face depends on many factors, including what he had access to while he served in the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Joint Base Cape Cod, according to Rosanna Cavallaro, a law professor at Suffolk University Law School.
What we knew on Thursday:MA Air National Guardsman from Dighton stationed on Cape Cod, arrested over military leaks
Jack Teixeira's military career: Where did he serve?
Airman 1st Class Teixeria joined the Guard on Sept. 26, 2019, and was mobilized for active duty with the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, according to a Defense Department document. His military job is generally described as network defense/network manager. He received an Air Force Achievement Medal on Sept. 30, 2022, according to Defense Department information.
Who leaked the Pentagon documents?:What we know about Jack Teixeira, the suspected DOD leaker
Teixeira did not serve at Fort Bragg as was reported by other media outlets.
"After exhausting efforts across the organizations on our installation, we are unable to confirm that Jack Teixeira had any service history or has been affiliated with any unit on Fort Bragg," Maj. Matt Visser, spokesman for the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg said.
Bragg official:National guardsman doesn't appear to have served at Bragg
Teixeira's security clearance will likely play a role in his charges.
Cavallaro, a lawyer who once worked in the state Attorney General's office,said during a telephone interview Thursday afternoon that there are statutes about how to handle classified information and keep it secure.
There could be charges that arise from the distribution of material he had lawful access to. There could be charges related to the dissemination of information he did not have security clearance for, she said. How he gained access to the information will figure into the charges.
If Teixeira was on a military base and entered areas he wasn’t cleared for, that would mean different charges.
Who information was shared with matters, too.
If Teixeira posted information in online chat rooms as has been alleged, that would be a violation of security regulations, Cavallaro said.
If he shared the information for personal gain or expected a favor from it, and if he shared sensitive classified information with foreign nationals, as the Washington Post reported, that would open him up toother charges, she said.
“Who you share it with opens up a different can of worms in terms of violations,” Cavallaro said.
What will happen Friday in federal court?
She suspects federal prosecutors will present minimal information to the judge on Friday as a basis for setting bail.
“We all have the presumption of innocence,” she said. “People have a constitutional right to bail. Could he hurt national security? Maybe.”
If that's the case, Teixeira could be held without bail. He could also be brought up on military charges.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement late Thursday that he was directing the Pentagon’s top intelligence official “to conduct a review of our intelligence access, accountability and control procedures within the department to inform our efforts to prevent this kind of incident from happening again.”
Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.Contributing to this report are The Cape Cod Times' Rachael Devaney, Rachael Riley and F.T. Norton from The Fayetteville Observer, Rebecca Hyman from the Taunton Gazette and Dan Rorabaugh, Bart Jansen, Tom Vanden Brook and Josh Meyer from the USA Today Network.
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