Suspect Jack Teixeira in custody after leak of intelligence documents
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has the latest on the arrest of Jack Teixeira on 'Special Report.'
Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine on a gaming site, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison.
He was brought into court in an orange jumpsuit and showed no visible reaction as he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani. Earlier in the hearing, he apologized before the judge.
In addition, Teixeria was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He also faces a military court-martial, which is scheduled to begin in March 2025.
Federal prosecutors requested that Teixeria be sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison, stating he "perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history."
"Today, Mr. Teixeria has paid a very heavy price for the laws he broke and for the incredible damage that he caused," Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said during a news conference. "I expect that starting tomorrow, Jack Teixeria's name will be mentioned when people are trained about the gravity of a top secret clearance and the consequences."
JACK TEIXEIRA PLEADS GUILTY TO LEAKING PENTAGON CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
This artist depiction shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appearing in U.S. District Court in Boston, April 14, 2023. (AP)
Teixeira's attorneys asked for an 11-year prison sentence for their client in court documents, stating he is "autistic and was isolated" when he began sharing classified information with online friends on a Discord server.
"His intent was never to harm the United States," the attorneys wrote. "Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to make certain they were not misled by misinformation."
Still, they acknowledged Teixeira "made a terrible decision which he repeated over 14 months."
"It’s a crime that deserves serious consequences," the attorney wrote. "Jack has thoroughly accepted responsibility for the wrongfulness of his actions and stands ready to accept whatever punishment must now be imposed."
In pushing for the maximum sentence, prosecutors said Teixeira does not suffer from an intellectual disability that prevents him from knowing right from wrong. They argued that Teixeira’s post-arrest diagnosis as having "mild, high-functioning" autism "is of questionable relevance in these proceedings."
Teixeira, 22, accepted a potential maximum prison sentence of 16 years after appearing in Boston's federal courthouse in March and pleading guilty to all six counts of retaining and transmitting classified national defense information. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with further violations of the Espionage Act.
"We are aware of the DOJ disposition of the case. The plea agreement is currently being reviewed by the Department of the Air Force," a U.S. Air Force official told Fox News.
WHO IS JACK TEIXEIRA, THE AIR NATIONAL GUARDSMEN BEHIND LEAKED CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS?
Selfie of Jack Teixeira, the 22-year-old National Guard Airman accused of leaking classified information. (Facebook)
Teixeira also agreed to sit for a debriefing with members of the intelligence community, Department of Defense or Department of Justice and turn over any classified materials that may still be in his possession.
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been held behind bars since his arrest on April 13, 2023, when he was accused of leaking a trove 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 transport systems specialist." He held the highest level security clearance granted by the federal government for top secret information.
Authorities say Teixeira started sharing classified documents on the online social platform Discord with a private group called "Thug Shaker Central" that consisted of roughly 20 to 30 young men.
PENTAGON DOCUMENT LEAK HAS IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON NATIONAL SECURITY: SUCKS UP ‘A LOT OF OXYGEN’
This image made from video provided by WCVB-TV, shows Jack Teixeira, in T-shirt and shorts, being taken into custody by armed tactical agents on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Dighton, Mass. Teixeira, who is accused in the leak of highly classified military documents, appeared in court Friday as prosecutors unsealed charges and revealed how billing records and interviews with social media comrades helped pinpoint the suspect. (WCVB-TV via AP)
The leaked documents mainly concern Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as troop movements in the Ukrainian theater, the provision of supplies to troops, but also included intelligence on China, the Middle East, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and world leaders.
"This conduct caused immediate operational damage and long term enduring damage to our relationships with our allies, to our ability to gather information by revealing intelligence gathering methods, and through other consequences," said Levy.
One member of the group told The New York Times that Teixeira seemed resigned to his fate in a conversation they had. He said Teixeira recounted, "I never wanted it to get like this. I prayed to God that this would never happen. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. Only God can decide what happens from now on."
Teixeira had previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act.
"He did this to boost his ego, impress his anonymous friends, and set the record straight about Russia's invasion of Ukraine," said Jody Cohen, the FBI special agent in charge of the Boston field office.
The security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets, and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Authorities said Teixeira first typed out classified documents he accessed on Discord. He then began to share photographs of files that had SECRET and TOP SECRET markings after he became concerned he would get in trouble for "making the transcriptions of text in the workplace," an online user known to have interacted with Teixeira told the FBI, per court documents.
Prosecutors said the leaker tried to destroy evidence before his arrest and that authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and an Xbox gaming console in a dumpster at this house.
The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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