Lindsey Graham slames Marjorie Taylor Greene as ‘irresponsible’ for defending Pentagon leaker

Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday denounced fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene for defending the man who leaked intelligence secrets to the internet, calling it “terribly irresponsible.”

He said Greene and others defending Jack Teixeira were “that it’s okay to release classified information based on your political views. That the end justifies the means. It’s not okay.’

“It’s one of the most irresponsible statements you can make,” he said on ABC’s This Week. “The way we collect intelligence protects our country. There are military personnel from Georgia and other places today who are less safe because of what this airman has done.’

“There’s no justification for that. And for a member of Congress to suggest that it’s okay to leak classified information because you agree with the cause, that’s grossly irresponsible and seriously endangers America.”

Greene, a Republican congressman from Georgia, claimed Friday that Teixeira is being prosecuted for being “white, Christian and anti-war.”

Teixeira, a 21-year-old National Guardsman, leaked files detailing possible arms shipments to Ukraine, as well as the number of foreign intelligence agents in the country.

“Jake Teixeira is white, male, Christian and anti-war,” Greene wrote on Twitter, misspelling his first name. “That makes him an enemy of the Biden regime.”

“He told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and much more,” she added. “Ask yourself who is the real enemy?”

Greene has long opposed the United States helping the war in Ukraine. Her comments came as Teixeira appeared in court in Boston, Massachusetts on two charges of leaking classified information.

Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina who also served in the National Guard, said he is baffled by how Teixeira had access to such sensitive information.

“I was captain and major. I’d be surprised if I had that kind of information,” he told ABC News.

“I don’t know what led to this airman’s actions, but he did a lot of damage to our reputation,” he added. “And I’m stunned that someone at that level can have so much access.”

So the question is, how did he get it and why did he do it. And we – some people should be fired for this.’

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that Jack Teixeira is being prosecuted for being “white, Christian, and anti-war.”

President Joe Biden said Friday that he directed investigators to determine why the alleged leaker accessed the sensitive information, which included records containing purported details of Ukrainian military vulnerabilities and embarrassed Washington by revealing it was spying on its allies.

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said their panel plans to conduct a full investigation.

And she said senators would receive a briefing on the leak this week when they return to Washington DC after spring break.

“I have a lot of questions about, why were these documents lying around? Why did this person have access to it? Where were the documents kept and who were they for? Those are important questions we can ask the Intelligence Committee so we can better oversee it,” she told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.

She also said she wanted to know more about Teixeira.

“We need to know who this airman was, why he thought he had the authority or ability to show confidential documents, secret documents, to his friends. It sounds like he was extremely immature and someone who didn’t understand the weight and importance of these documents. And so we have to figure it out and provide the right protection,” she noted.

Teixeira was hit with two federal charges under the Espionage Act for his alleged role in the Pentagon leak.

He faces 15 years in prison if convicted of illegally stealing and leaking classified information and military secrets.

But questions are being raised about how Teixeira, who lived with his mother in North Dighton, Massachusetts, got permission to access sensitive documents.

Jack Teixiera worked as a junior cybersecurity specialist in the National Guard

FBI agents arrested Jack Teixeira Thursday at his mother’s home in North Dighton, Massachusetts

According to the indictment form, Teixeira received the highest security clearance in 2021 as a member of the National Guard. He worked as a junior cybersecurity specialist in the intelligence unit at Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod.

He posted a trove of top secret files under his online username ‘Jack the Dripper’ for months before the leak was discovered.

Teixeira’s next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19.