Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who pleaded guilty to leaking highly sensitive military documents about the war in Ukraine, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday.
He was brought into court wearing an orange jumpsuit and showed no reaction as he was sentenced by US District Judge Indira Talwani. At the beginning of the trial, he apologized in front of the judge.
Prosecutors asked that Teixeria be sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison, saying he “committed the most significant and consequential violation of the Espionage Act in American history.”
“As both a member of the United States Armed Forces and a permit holder, the defendant has taken an oath to protect the United States and protect its secrets – secrets that are vital to the national security of the US and the physical safety of Americans serving overseas,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Teixeira broke his oath, almost every day, for more than a year.”
JACK TEIXEIRA SEEKS CHARGE FOR LEAKING VARIOUS PENTAGON DOCUMENTS
This artist’s rendering shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appearing in US District Court in Boston, April 14, 2023. (AP)
Teixeira’s lawyers asked for an 11-year sentence for their client in court papers, saying he was “autistic and alone” when he began sharing private information with online friends on the Discord server.
“His intent was never to harm the United States,” the lawyers wrote. Instead, his goal was to educate his friends about world events to make sure they weren’t misled by misinformation.
However, they agreed that Teixeira “made a bad decision that he repeated in 14 months.”
“It is a crime that deserves severe punishment,” the lawyer wrote. “Jack has fully accepted the guilt of his actions and is prepared to accept whatever punishment is now handed down.”
In seeking the maximum sentence, prosecutors said Teixeira does not suffer from a mental disability that prevents him from knowing right from wrong. They argued that Teixeira’s post-arrest diagnosis as having “mild, high-functioning” autism “has questionable significance in these proceedings.”
Teixeira, 22, accepted a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison after appearing in court in Boston again in March. who pleaded guilty to all six charges storage and transfer of classified national security information. If he pleads guilty, prosecutors have agreed not to charge him with further violations of the Espionage Act.
WHO IS JACK TEIXEIRA, THE AIR NATIONAL GUARDIAN BEHIND THE LAKED DOCUMENTS?
Selfie of Jack Teixeira, the 22-year-old National Guard Airman accused of leaking classified information. (Facebook)
Teixeira also agreed to sit for interviews with members of the intelligence community, the Department of Defense or the Department of Justice and to answer any classified material he may still have.
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been in prison since his arrest on April 13, 2023, when he was accused of leaking dozens of military secrets online.
He was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, where he worked as a “cyber logistics specialist.” He holds the highest security clearance granted by the federal government for top secret information.
Authorities say Teixeira began sharing documents on the online social networking site Discord with a private group called “Thug Shaker Central” that included about 20 to 30 young men.
PENTAGON DOCUMENT LEAK THERE IS A QUICK LAW ON NATIONAL COOK: MONICA ‘TOO MANY MISSERS’
This photo, from video provided by WCVB-TV, shows Jack Teixeira, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, being held at gunpoint Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Dighton, Mass. Teixeira, a suspect in the leak of highly sensitive military documents, appeared in court on Friday as prosecutors filed charges and revealed how payroll records and conversations with comrades on social media helped identify the suspect. (WCVB-TV via AP)
The leaked documents mainly concern Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also include intelligence on China, in the Middle East, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and world leaders.
A member of this group told the New York Times that Teixeira seemed withdrawn from the conversation they had. Teixeira recounted, “I never wanted it to happen like this. I prayed to God that this wouldn’t happen. And I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. Only God can decide what happens from now on.”
Teixeira had previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of knowingly withholding and passing on national security information under the Espionage Act.
The security breach has raised anger over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets, and forced the Biden administration to resist trying to contain the political and military outbreak. The leak embarrassed the Pentagon, which strengthened controls to protect classified information and disciplinary members were found to have willfully failed to take the necessary action regarding Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Authorities said Teixeira began by typing in private texts he accessed on Discord. He then began sharing images of files marked SECRET and TOP SECRET after he worried he would get in trouble for “making a transcript at work,” an Internet user known to have interacted with Teixeira told the FBI, according to the report. court papers.
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Prosecutors said the suspect tried to destroy evidence before his arrest and that authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and Xbox game console in the trash at the home.
Leaks revealed to the world an undisclosed secret assessment of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including details about the movement of troops in Ukraine, and the supply of goods and equipment to the Ukrainian military. Teixeira also admitted that he sent information about plans by the American enemy to harm US soldiers serving overseas.
Stephen Sorace of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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