Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira left an ominous note in his high school yearbook that seemed to pre-empt his alleged disclosure of classified documents, but an intelligence expert has argued he couldn’t act alone.
The 21-year-old wrote “actions speak louder than words” in the 2020 graduate yearbook of Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School in Massachusetts.
He came from a military family and was determined to follow the same path, former classmates have revealed.
It comes as Donald Trump’s former deputy director of national intelligence said “it’s just not possible” that a low-level Air National Guard like Teixeira could have accessed sensitive US intelligence without help from someone higher up.
Teixeira posted a slew of highly classified military documents touching on the war in Ukraine and other national security issues.
Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira left an ominous note in his high school yearbook that seemed to anticipate his alleged disclosure of classified documents
The 21-year-old wrote “actions speak louder than words” in Massachusetts Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School’s 2020 graduate yearbook
A 21-year-old US Air Force National Guard employee has been arrested for leaking highly sensitive US defense and intelligence documents
He has now been hit with two federal charges for his alleged role in the Pentagon leak after appearing handcuffed in a federal court in Boston on Friday.
The airman could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of illegally stealing and leaking classified information and military secrets.
New questions are being raised about how Teixeira, who lived with his mother in North Dighton, Massachusetts, obtained permission to access such sensitive documents.
Patel suggested that his role as an IT specialist raised the prospect of other parties being involved.
‘You can be the greatest IT person [the Department of Defense]and you’re still cut off from the factual information,” he said Breitbart news.
‘As we say, an IT specialist almost never needs to know the content of the intelligence.
“It’s their job to provide the secure information systems around it to protect any disclosures.”
He added that “99 percent of people” with top-level permission “don’t have access” to the kind of information Teixeira leaked.
Patel said he “didn’t believe for a second” that “this man — a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman — was running his operation alone.”
He suggested that the leaks could instead be part of a WikiLeaks-style operation.
The leak is the most embarrassing — and arguably the most damaging — for the US since the 2013 WikiLeaks scandal, when National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden passed on confidential documents
This document appears to reflect the state of Ukraine’s air defenses in February and May, when they are expected to be severely depleted
Teixeira’s former classmates described him as a strange student, obsessed with guns and war, but one, John Powell, recounted CNN he “never could have foreseen” that he would leak US intelligence.
Others told the outlet that his behavior made them “nervous” and that he made comments that were perceived as racist and came to school wearing an AR-15 printed shirt in the aftermath of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.
“A lot of people were wary of him,” says Brooke Cleathero, a former classmate in both middle and high school.
Teixeira’s father, also known as Jack, shouted “I love you, Jack” as his son was led away from court in Boston after his hearing on Friday.
The 21-year-old replied, “I love you too, Dad.”
Teixeira’s next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared to criticize the 21-year-old at a news conference earlier on Friday.
“People who sign agreements to receive classified documents recognize the importance to national security of not disclosing those documents, and we intend to convey that message of how important it is to our national security,” he said. he.
The leak is the most embarrassing — and arguably the most damaging — for the US since the 2013 WikiLeaks scandal, when National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden passed on confidential documents.
Relatives of Teixeira fought their way through a media scrum after briefly watching the 21-year-old appear before the judges to hear the charges against him
Teixeira appeared in federal court in Boston on Friday and faces 15 years in prison if convicted of illegally stealing and leaking classified information and military secrets
According to the indictment form, Teixeira received the highest security clearance in 2021 as a member of the National Guard.
Teixeira posted the trove of top secret files under his online username “Jack the Dripper” for months before the leak was discovered.
He worked as a junior cybersecurity specialist in the intelligence unit at Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod.
It is believed to have started on a site called Discord, a social media platform popular among people who play online games.
Teixeira allegedly posted about guns, games and top secret US government information.
The court filed Friday in Boston said some of his fellow chat room members had reported his activities to investigators.