National Guardsman Gets 16 Years for Leaking Pentagon Docs Over Discord
Jack Teixeira shared documents on the war in Ukraine to a gamer group on Discord.
Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty on Monday to leaking classified military documents to an online Discord chat group.
Teixeira had originally pleaded not guilty, but he admitted to "willful retention and transmission of national defense information" in a deal with prosecutors to avoid espionage charges. He will also be required to brief officials on the information he leaked during his work for the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base.
The sentence is harsher than that of other recent leakers. Daniel Hale, a U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst who exposed key details about the Obama administration's drone assassination program, was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Reality Winner, a National Security Agency contractor who leaked documents about alleged Russian hacking, got five years.
Unlike other historical leakers, Teixeira was not an intentional whistleblower. He originally sent documents to a raucous Discord server called Thug Shaker Central—the title was a reference to a porn film—with a few dozen gamers in it. The files went viral after other users reposted them elsewhere.
Teixeira would not be the first person to leak restricted documents to gamer friends. So many people have posted sensitive weapons data to the War Thunder video game forum that it has become a meme: "0 days since classified document leaks."
But the Discord leak wasn't a mere attempt to impress friends or a joke. Teixeira, who has been described as "antiwar" and "libertarian," appeared to have some qualms about U.S. foreign policy and wanted to talk through these issues with his friends.
"It wasn't really 'pushing these to teenagers for clout,'" Vahki, a pseudonymous member of the chatroom where Teixeira posted the documents, told CNN. "It was more like showing these to friends, so we won't be shocked by the news cycles. And we know what's going on with our tax dollars."
At the time of the indictment, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that Teixeira leaked "information that reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if shared…In doing so, he is alleged to have violated U.S. law and endangered our national security."
Yet the leaks also provided valuable insights into U.S. foreign policy, especially the war in Ukraine. Based on the documents, journalists were able to learn more about U.S. advice about Ukrainian strategy, Ukraine's ammunition shortages, attempts by Russia to obtain weapons and other support from U.S. allies, and casualties on both sides of the war.
The leak embarrassed U.S. friends and foes alike. Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov, stung by reports that Russia was secretly buying rockets from U.S. ally Egypt, called the documents a "hoax."
Perhaps most embarrassingly, the documents revealed the extent of Washington's eavesdropping on its partners, from South Korea to Israel. Rather than threatening American lives, Teixeira's real crime may have been humiliating American diplomats.
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Good try, I guess.
And Senator Joseph Biden stole top secret docs from a SCIF and retained them for decades unsecured in his garage and showed them to his ghostwriter (with no security clearance) and told him “they don’t know I have these”
That’s (D)ifferent.
“Still no word on charges against Hillary Clinton.”
Nuland “retires”…ding dong the witch is gone.
another neocon with Russian Jewish ancestry who hates Russia and has spent American blood and treasure for some weird obsession to punish what the czar did and to put in a new Trotsky (Zelensky).
Let’s hope the un-American misfit experiences the hardest time in prison that can lawfully and reasonably be arranged.
You mean lock him up with a pedo like you?
What’s your opinion on what Chelsea Manning did, Kirkland?
I don’t know who Chelsea manning is, I Don recognize the identity of people with mental disorders, but if your referring to the case of the army private… Ohhh you wanted Rev kirk, never mind
If he changed his name he changed his name.
The Rev is a Dick Cheney republican so it should be obvious what he thinks about Chelsea Manning.
Teixeira, who has been described as “antiwar” and “libertarian,” appeared to have some qualms about U.S. foreign policy and wanted to talk through these issues with his friends.
I can’t even with this.
This was hundreds of documents over an extended period of time. But you want to paint it as “some qualms” that he “wanted to talk through.” Right.
Matthew, put it on.
https://c.tenor.com/T3x7tyBXKVMAAAAd/clown-nose.gif
Wait, this low level guy gets 16 years. For what?
Meanwhile, how much prison time did General Petreus get? How about John Deustch? How about Sandy Berger? How about any of these Congresscritters who leak classified data? Are they doing prison time? Doesn’t look like it to me.
Yes, this dolt Jack Teixeira broke the law. I am not quite seeing 16 years, especially if the standard is unevenly applied, as it is here.
Bingo…hell Nuland is a war criminal. Bush knowingly lied about WMD. This kid didn’t do much expect expose the absolute gutting of the US Military Leadership and foreign policy estab of intelligence.
Not mentioned in the article is how many of Texeira’s superiors were “disciplined” for allowing this to happen in the first place.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/11/politics/air-force-disciplines-investigation-jack-teixeira?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_google
The commander of Teixeira’s unit, Col. Sean Riley of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, was relieved of command, the Air Force said. Commanders of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron who had been suspended were “permanently removed.” Maybe if the U.S. government concentrated more on performing its unquestioned Constitutional functions and less on the myriad activities it has appropriated in violation of the Constitution it could actually defend the United States better.
His real crime was not being politically connected while breaking the law, otherwise he could’ve avoided this sentence.
National Security is hurting our national security.