The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is demanding to know why the suspect in the massive Pentagon leak took months to track down, despite posting about it on Discord.
FBI investigators have arrested Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old man suspected of being behind the biggest US intelligence leak in nearly a decade.
In a statement, Ohio Representative Mike Turner, who heads both the Intelligence Committee and a member of the Armed Forces Committee, is demanding answers as to why it took several months to find him.
“Leaking classified information jeopardizes our national security, negatively impacts our relationship with our allies, and jeopardizes the safety of the United States military and intelligence personnel,” Turner said.
“As we try to understand the extent of classified information released and how to mitigate the fallout, the House Intelligence Committee will investigate why this happened, why it went unnoticed for weeks, and how to prevent future leaks.”
Ohio Representative Mike Turner, head of the Intelligence Commission and member of the Armed Forces Commission, demands answers as to why it took several months to find him
“Congratulations to law enforcement officers for locating and apprehending the alleged criminal,” he added.
Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that the National Guardsman had been arrested “without incident” in North Dighton, Massachusetts.
He said Teixeira will appear before a local court as part of the investigation into “alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.”
It is the most embarrassing security breach for any US government since WikiLeaks got its hands on more than 700,000 classified documents and diplomatic cables in 2013.
In an interview with MSNBC Thursday, Turner called the whole situation “disturbing” and noted how these secret documents were treated “like a game” by Teixeira.
‘This is a crime. This is espionage and it involves real people,” Turner said. “This can hurt real people and real people can get killed and lose their lives because of the leak of classified information. To make this all the way to the point where it almost seems like a game to these individuals is certainly very chilling.”
He also called the leaks “dangerous” because the Discord rooms Teixeira allegedly used could have admitted foreign actors, some perhaps “children,” according to Turner.
“What should we do to ensure that our classified information is better retained? How do we find these people before they do this? Before secret documents are compromised’, he wondered.
Turner also disagreed with President Joe Biden that the leaks were “immaterial,” but said he understood the president was trying to communicate that there were “various types of leaks” and that they should all be stopped.
Teixeira was a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s intelligence division and the leader of an online chat group where he reportedly posted top secret Pentagon documents under the username “Jack the dripper.”
Footage from a news helicopter showed the suspect, wearing red shorts with his hands behind his back, being placed in an unmarked SUV vehicle by heavily armed officers.
The FBI said in a statement that its agents “continue to conduct authorized law enforcement activities at the residence” where the suspect was arrested.
And in uncharacteristically blunt remarks, it vowed to continue “identifying, prosecuting and holding accountable those who betray our country’s trust and endanger our national security.”
Teixeira’s identity was first revealed by the New York timeS after a week of scandal for US President Joe Biden as the classified files circulated online.
Jack Teixeira, the leader of the Thug Shaker Central chat group on Discord, was named by the New York Times as one of the men possibly responsible for one of the biggest national security breaches of the past decade.
The 21-year-old is expected to appear in a Massachusetts court in connection with the leak of classified information
The American network CNN carried this footage of Teixeira’s arrest after he was mentioned earlier on Thursday by the New York Times
The inside of Teixeira’s childhood home in Bristol, Massachusetts, matched photos of the sensitive files about US intelligence and the war in Ukraine that have been shared on forums since late last year, the Times said.
The FBI will now question Teixeira, whose mother Dawn confirmed to the Times that he is an active member who works out of a base in Cape Cod and works more night shifts.
His role included transporting cybersecurity equipment.
Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department national security prosecutor who now works at the law firm Morrison Foerster, said the likely charges could be as high as 10 years in prison, even if Teixeira had no intention of causing harm.
“I think this is someone who has been in prison for years because the leaks were so damaging,” Van Grack said.
The Boston attorney’s office said Teixeira is expected to make his first appearance Friday.
His arrest comes after President Joe Biden said on the third day of his trip to Ireland that investigators were “getting closer” to finding the source.
Police set up a roadblock outside Jack Teixeira’s home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, after his identity was revealed by the New York Times
The inside of Teixeira’s childhood home in Bristol, Massachusetts, matched photos of the sensitive files about US intelligence and the war in Ukraine that have been shared on forums since late last year, according to the Times
Biden also said he was not “concerned” about sharing the documents that threatened US assets around the world because the information is not “contemporary.”
The intelligence in the files contains information suggesting that Ukraine will soon run out of artillery and could potentially endanger U.S. intelligence sources around the world.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder called the leak of classified information a “deliberate, criminal act.”
Dozens of teens and young adults would make up the group where those files were posted and have been described as “like-minded” individuals.
Two members of the chat room described the suspect to The Washington Post Wednesday evening.
‘He’s fit. He is strong. He’s armed. He’s trained. Pretty much everything you’d expect from a crazy movie,” said one of the members.
He described him as “a young, charismatic man who loves nature, God, shooting guns and racing cars.”
During an intense search for the source of the leaks, The Washington Post reported seeing videos and photos of the man, as well as recordings of his interactions with members of the group.
In a video seen by The Post, the man can be seen at a shooting range with a large rifle, wearing goggles and earmuffs. The man looks into the camera and shouts racial and anti-Semitic slurs, then fires several rounds at a target.
The New York Times reported that they were able to match Teixeira with other members of the online group through his gaming profiles.
One of the leaked documents, posted online, sparked an FBI hunt for the source and a criminal investigation