A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded guilty to leaking classified military documents related to the Ukraine war is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Tuesday.
Prosecutors argue that Teixeira should be sentenced to 17 years in prison for “committing one of the most serious and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in U.S. history.”
“Defendants, both as members of the U.S. military and as permit holders, are sworn to defend the United States and protect secrets vital to the national security of the United States and the physical safety of Americans serving abroad. ” the prosecutor wrote. “Teixeira broke his oath almost every day for over a year.”
Teixeira's lawyers plan to argue that U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani should sentence him to 11 years in prison. In their sentencing memo, they acknowledged their client had made “a series of poor decisions over a 14-month period.”
“This is a crime that deserves serious consequences,” the attorneys wrote. “Jack fully accepts responsibility for the wrongfulness of his actions and stands ready to accept any punishment that may be imposed in the future.”
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in March to six counts of knowingly retaining and transmitting national defense information under the Espionage Act. This comes nearly a year after he was arrested in the most serious national security breach in years.
The 22-year-old admitted to illegally collecting some of the country's most sensitive secrets and sharing them with other users on social media platform Discord.
When Teixeira pleaded guilty, prosecutors said they would seek prison time at the high end of the sentencing range. But the defense said the past 11 years were “significant enough to warrant deterrence considerations and effectively represent half of Jack's life.”
His lawyer explained that Teixeira was autistic and isolated and spent most of his time online, particularly in the Discord community. They said his actions, while criminal, were in no way intended to “harm the United States.” He also had no criminal record.
“Instead, his purpose was to educate his friends about world events so that they would not be misled by misinformation,” the lawyers wrote. “For Jack, the Ukraine war was World War II or Iraq for his generation, and he needed someone to share that experience with.”
However, prosecutors countered that Teixeira does not have an intellectual disability that prevents him from knowing right from wrong.
They argued that Teixeira's post-arrest diagnosis of “mild, high-functioning” autism has “questionable relevance to these proceedings.”
The security breach has raised alarm over America's ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to contain the diplomatic and military fallout.
The leak embarrassed the Pentagon, tightened controls to protect classified information, and found that disciplined member states intentionally failed to take necessary action regarding Teixeira's suspicious behavior.
Teixeira, who served with the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, served as a cyber transportation system specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks.
He remains in the Air National Guard without pay, Air Force officials said.
Authorities said he first typed the classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photos of files marked SECRET and TOP SECRET.
Prosecutors also said the suspect tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and authorities said they found a broken tablet, laptop and Xbox game console in a trash can at his home.
The leak exposed Russia's secret assessment of the war in Ukraine to the world, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to the Ukrainian military.
Teixeira also admitted to posting information about U.S. enemies' plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
