Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira may still have access to classified docs: DOJ
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to keep Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira behind bars in the Pentagon “Geeky Leaks” case, arguing that he could cause “extraordinary” damage by disclosing even more classified documents if released before trial.
In court papers filed late Wednesday, the Justice Department lawyers wrote that letting the 21-year-old go would pose a grave threat to national security as investigators are still trying to determine whether he kept any copies of classified files, including ones that have not yet been made public.
“There simply is no condition or combination of conditions that can ensure the Defendant will not further disclose additional information still in his knowledge or possession,” prosecutors wrote. “The damage the Defendant has already caused to the US national security is immense. The damage the Defendant is still capable of causing is extraordinary.”
Prosecutors also alleged that Teixeira may still have access to a trove of classified information that would be of tremendous value to hostile nation states,” which could help him escape the US and “offer him safe harbor.”
Teixeira was due Thursday afternoon on Worcester, Mass. federal court for a hearing on the government’s request.
Teixeira, who worked as a cyber transport systems specialist with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested earlier this month and charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. He has been in lockup since April 13 and has yet to enter a plea.
The 21-year-old is suspected of sharing hundreds of highly classified Pentagon documents concerning national security and the war in Ukraine on the gaming platform Discord over the course of at least several months — and possibly even longer than that.
In their response to the government, filed Thursday morning, Teixeira’s attorneys denied their client presents a flight risk.
“The government’s [argument] in many respects engages in hyperbolic judgements and provides little more than speculation that a foreign adversary will seduce Mr. Teixeira and orchestrate his clandestine escape from the United States,” they wrote. “This argument is illusory. The government has presented no articulable facts to support these assertions.”
Further, the defense team wrote that the judge could release Teixeira to the custody of his father; put him under house arrest “unless in the presence of father mother, step-father, Air Force personnel or counsel” or issue him an ankle-monitor.
They also suggested the judge could ban the airman from using the internet unsupervised, order him not to contact any witnesses or potential witnesses and issue a $20,000 bond or one “secured by either or both homes owned by Teixeira’s parents.”
Teixeira’s defense noted that while he remains on active duty, his ” military chain-of-command remains responsible for his well being, and a senior master sergeant has been designated to maintain regular contact with Mr. Teixeira.”
“Air Force policy and directives mandate that it take specific steps to ensure that Mr. Teixeira has the resources necessary to conform to any pretrial conditions the court may impose,” his court-appointed lawyers added.
The New York Times reported last week that a Discord user with a profile matching Teixeira’s began posting copies of documents in a chat room as far back as February 2022.
In arguing for Teixeira’s continued detention, prosecutors wrote that the guardsman posed a danger to the public because he owned multiple guns and repeatedly had “detailed and troubling discussions about violence and murder” on Discord.
In February, he told another person that he was tempted to make a minivan into an “assassination van,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors also revealed that Teixeira was suspended during high school when a classmate overheard him talking about Molotov cocktails and other weapons.
Teixeira’s classmates previously discussed how the military-obsessed teen made them feel uneasy by showing up to school wearing camouflage, carrying around textbooks about weapons and making racially charged remarks.
Prosecutors alleged in their filing that as news outlets began reporting on the Pentagon leaks earlier this month, Teixeira tried to destroy evidence. Authorities who searched a dumpster at his home found a smashed laptop, tablet and Xbox gaming console.
Investigators have not revealed a possible motive behind the leaks. Members of the Discord group have described Teixeira as someone looking to show off to his online friends, rather than a whistleblower with a political agenda.
The leaks shocked the military community and sparked an international uproar, raising questions about the US’s ability to protect its classified information.
The Pentagon has said it would conduct an internal review of access to sensitive intelligence to prevent a similar breach in the future.
With Post wires
