US Air National Guardsman pleads guilty to leaking classified documents

US Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, 22, has been found guilty after being tried for leaking documents containing "sensitive and highly classified materials" on various current issues belonging to the US Department of Defense.

Teixeira pleaded guilty in a Federal Court in Boston, Massachusetts, to six counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information. Prosecutors have requested a sentence of 16 years and 8 months in prison and a $50,000 fine for Teixeira, who published dozens of classified documents on the internet.

FIRST DISCOVERED LAST YEAR

US officials stated that the leaked documents were first shared on social media platforms Discord and Telegram in February and March of last year but were only recently discovered, adding that potential culprits within the Department of Defense were also under scrutiny as part of the investigation into the leak. Officials, who stated that the documents appeared to have been obtained and leaked by someone with access to the US intelligence system, noted that there were signs that some of the content was not even shared with the closest US intelligence partners.

Among the documents leaked to the internet on April 7 were classified files regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, the operations of the Russia-based mercenary company Wagner in Africa, ways for Israel to provide military aid to Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ties with Russia.

Teixeira was serving at the Otis Air National Guard Base in Boston and held a top-secret security clearance despite his junior rank. In December of last year, the Air Force referred 15 personnel to a disciplinary board regarding the incident. A report published within the framework of the investigation stated that the personnel were aware of Teixeira's "intelligence-seeking activities" and did not stop him.