Air National Guardsman pleads guilty to leaking national defense information

Jack Teixeira, age 22, on Monday pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform. A federal grand jury last year indicted the former Air National Guardsman on six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act. Authorities arrested Teixeira in April of 2023. He faces up to 16 years in prison and is expected to be sentenced in the fall.

What information did he leak? While he was stationed in Massachusetts, Teixeira used his top-secret security clearance to retain and share hundreds of national defense documents, according to statements from the Department of Justice. The documents included a wide range of topics, including the war in Ukraine and private intelligence on other countries. Teixeira was trained, and received warnings before his arrest, not to write down classified information or view documents outside of his responsibilities, according to the DOJ. “Mr. Teixeira enabled hundreds of members of his online chat groups, including individuals it was clear to him were located abroad, to further disseminate national defense information across the internet,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said Monday in a press conference.

Have there been any similar cases recently? Officials on Monday indicted a civilian employee of the U.S. Air Force on allegations that he transmitted classified information on a foreign online dating platform. David Franklin Slater, 63, worked at the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska from about August 2021 until about April 2022. Federal prosecutors allege that the retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel knowingly shared classified information about the war in Ukraine with another person. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, according to numerous reports. He’s presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, the DOJ said in a statement. 

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about how the Pentagon leak exposed problems with the security of classified information.