Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira indicted and accused of mishandling classified documents
Defense And Security,Classified Information,Jack Teixeira,Pentagon
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Defense Department leak suspect Jack Teixeira on six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.
Teixeira, who was arrested in April, is suspected of leaking classified Pentagon documents on Discord, a social media platform primarily used by online gamers, while serving as a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman.
“The unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified information jeopardizes our nation’s security,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy of the District of Massachusetts said in a statement Thursday. "Individuals granted access to classified materials have a fundamental duty to safeguard the information for the safety of the United States, our active service members, its citizens, and its allies."
According to the indictment, Teixeira held a top-secret security clearance starting around July 2021 and was trained in the definition, classification levels and proper handling of classified materials. It also said he “improperly retained and transmitted classified National Defense Information” on a social media platform.
An attorney for Teixeira declined to comment on the indictment.
