Pentagon leaker Teixeira ordered to remain in jail before trial
A former member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard accused of leaking top-secret military documents has been jailed pending trial in the United States.
Jack Teixeira appeared in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, where Magistrate Judge David Hennessy weighed prosecutors’ request to keep the 21-year-old incarcerated ahead of the closely watched trial.
In handing Friday’s decision, Hennessy indicated that Teixeira may be unreliable, given that the case hinged on the claim that the 21-year-old had broken his “word that he would provide information pertaining to the security of the United States.” to protect”.
Hennessy also addressed the seriousness of the allegations against Teixeira. “Who has he endangered? I mean, you could make a list as long as a phone book,” the judge said, referring to the alleged leak.
In addition, Hennessy cited Teixeira’s fascination with guns, his online comments and his criminal record with the National Guard as reasons for detaining him.
Teixeira is being charged under the Espionage Act for allegedly sharing a trove of classified military documents in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform primarily used by gamers.
The documents were intended to show the US assessment of the Russian war in Ukraine and a range of other national security issues. The revelations stirred up several U.S. allies and raised broader questions about why a relatively low-ranking official in a National Guard would have access to such classified information.
Those questions have been fueled after prosecutors said in court documents filed this week that Teixeira was caught months before his April arrest by superiors taking notes on classified information and reviewing intelligence unrelated to his job.
He had been admonished twice by superiors in September and October and was re-observed in February when he reviewed information “unrelated to his primary job and related to the intelligence field,” according to internal Air National Guard memos that were in court. have been submitted.
This week, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh referred questions about Teixeira’s continued access to classified information following the incidents to authorities conducting investigations by the Justice Department and the Air Force.
Judge Hennessy heard arguments from lawyers late last month about Teixeira’s detention, but then delayed an immediate decision. Hennessy indicated on Friday that it is in the interest of national security that Teixeira remains behind bars.
“It does not seem at all unlikely that a foreign government would approach this defendant for information,” he said.
Teixeira has not yet filed a plea. His lawyers had urged the judge to release him at his father’s home, noting that he did not run when the media began publishing his name shortly before his April 13 arrest.
His lawyer told the judge last month that Teixeira “will answer the charges” and “will be tried by his fellow citizens”.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, had previously pointed to the arsenal of weapons in his possession prior to his arrest, as well as a history of violent and disturbing remarks.
The Justice Department has also said Teixeira used its government computer in July to track mass shootings and government standoffs. He searched for terms like “Ruby Ridge,” “Las Vegas shooting,” “Mandalay Bay shooting,” “Uvalde,” and “Buffalo tops shooting” — a clear reference to the 2022 racist mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket.
US officials have largely downplayed the fallout from the leaks, which, among other revelations, seemed to show just how closely the US is monitoring its allies’ interactions with Russia and China.
A document says the US may have spied on ally South Korea and provides details of alleged discussions between top aides with President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Citing a leaked document, the Washington Post also reported that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi discussed a plan to supply Russia with 40,000 missiles. A Foreign Ministry spokesman denied the assessment, saying Cairo maintained “not to be involved in this crisis and committed to keeping an equal distance from both sides”.
Another leaked report suggested that Israel’s Mossad spy agency opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed overhaul of the judiciary.
Several of the alleged US intelligence assessments also painted a more pessimistic view of the Ukrainian military than the US had publicly provided. They suggest that Kiev is heading for only “modest territorial gains” in its long-awaited counter-offensive.