Air National Guardsman to Plead Guilty in Leak of Secret Intelligence Reports
A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting secret intelligence reports and sensitive documents online has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a 16-year sentence. Jack Teixeira, the airman in question, withdrew his not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to six counts of “willful retention and transmission of national defense information.”
The judge in the case, Indira Talwani, is set to review the plea deal in September. The agreement includes a commitment from Teixeira to provide officials with a comprehensive briefing on the extent of his leaks. The Justice Department has agreed not to charge him with violations of the Espionage Act, which could have resulted in a much longer sentence.
Teixeira, 22, has been in custody since his arrest last spring. Prosecutors found no evidence of espionage, but revealed that Teixeira had shared sensitive information on a social media platform to impress online acquaintances. The leaked information included details on military equipment provision to Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian troop movements, and foreign plots targeting U.S. troops abroad.
An investigation by The New York Times uncovered Teixeira’s fixation on weapons, mass shootings, and conspiracy theories through thousands of his messages. The case highlights the potential risks of insider leaks and the challenges of preventing unauthorized disclosures of classified information.
