A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking top-secret military documents about the war in Ukraine.
Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of intentionally retaining and transmitting national defense information under the Espionage Act after his arrest in the most high-profile national security case in years. He was brought to court wearing an orange jumpsuit, and showed no apparent reaction as U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced him.
Before being sentenced, he apologized for his actions.
“I wanted to say I am sorry for all the hurt I have caused and caused,” Teixeira said, referring to the “disruption” he has caused to my friends, family and anyone affected abroad. “I realize that all responsibility and consequences lie solely with me and I accept whatever this will bring,” he said, standing up and addressing the judge.
Teixeira then hugged one of his lawyers, looked at his family and smiled before being led out of court.
The security breach raised concerns about America’s ability to protect its closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to rush to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which has tightened controls to protect classified information and arrest members who were found to have deliberately failed to take required action regarding Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Earlier in Tuesday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan said 200 months — or a little more than 16 1/2 years — was appropriate given the “historic” harm caused by Teixeira’s conduct that aided America’s enemies and harmed the country’s allies. . He also said prosecutors’ recommendation would send a message to anyone in the military who might be considering similar behavior.
“This will be a cautionary tale for the men and women of the U.S. military,” Dolan said. “They will be told, ‘This is what will happen if you break your promise, if you betray your country…’ and they will know the name of the defendant. They will know the punishment imposed by the court.”
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But Teixeira’s attorney, Michael Bachrach, told the judge in court Tuesday that 11 years was enough.
“It is a significant, harsh and difficult punishment, and it will not be easy to enforce,” Bachrach said. “It will act as a severe deterrent to anyone, especially young soldiers. This will be enough to deter them from committing dangerous behaviour.”
Teixeira, of North Dayton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in March to six counts of intentionally retaining and transmitting national defense information under the Espionage Act. This came almost a year after he was arrested in the largest national security leak in years.
The 22-year-old admitted that he illegally collected some of the country’s most sensitive secrets and shared them with other users on the social media platform Discord.
When Teixeira pleaded guilty, prosecutors said they would seek prison time at the top of the sentencing range. But the defense wrote in a sentencing memorandum earlier that 11 years is “serious and sufficient to account for deterrence considerations and would be essentially equivalent to half the life Jack has lived to date.”
His lawyers described Teixeira as an autistic and isolated person who spends most of his time online, especially with his Discord community. They said his actions, while criminal, were not intended to “harm the United States.” He also had no previous criminal record.
“Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to ensure they were not misled by misleading information,” the lawyers wrote. “For Jack, the war in Ukraine was the World War II or Iraq War of his generation, and he needed someone to share that experience with.”
But the prosecution responded that Teixeira does not suffer from a mental disability that prevents him from knowing right from wrong. They argued that Teixeira’s post-arrest diagnosis as suffering from “mild, high-functioning” autism “is of questionable significance in these proceedings.”
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. He remains in the Air National Guard without pay, an Air Force official said.
He first printed out confidential documents he had access to and then began sharing photos of files marked confidential and top secret, authorities said. Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and authorities found a tablet, a laptop and a smashed Xbox gaming console in a dumpster at his home.
The leak revealed to the world candid, confidential assessments of the Russian war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian forces. Teixeira also admitted to disseminating information about a US adversary’s plans to harm US troops serving abroad.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
