Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard accused of disclosing highly classified military documents about Russia's war against Ukraine and other American national security secrets, is expected to plead guilty in federal court on Monday, AP reports , UNN writes.
Details
A 22-year-old man is due to appear in a Boston federal court for a plea hearing almost a year after he was arrested in a case involving the most significant national security leak in recent years.
Teixeira, from North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been behind bars since his April arrest in a case that has raised concerns about 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 forced the Pentagon to tighten controls over the protection of classified information, and the Air Force disciplined 15 employees after its inspector general found last year that several officials had intentionally failed to take the necessary steps in connection with Teixeira's suspicious behavior.
Teixeira had previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of willfully storing and transmitting national defense information under the US Espionage Act. Each of the charges is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Last year, a judge ordered Teixeira to remain behind bars while he awaits trial after prosecutors found that he had previously been prone to aggressive rhetoric and warned that US adversaries who might be interested in extracting information from Teixeira could help him escape.
Teixeira remains in the National Guard Air Force without pay, the Air Force said.
Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys provided additional details about Teixeira's plea deal, the newspaper said.
Addendum
Teixeira was a member of the 102nd Intelligence Unit at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts when authorities said he was illegally collecting military secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord, a social network popular among people who play online games. Teixeira worked as a "cyber transportation systems specialist," which is essentially an IT professional in charge of military communications networks.
Authorities said he first printed the classified documents he had access to, and then began sharing photos of the files marked "Secret" and "Top Secret." The leak revealed to the world secret assessments of Russia's war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other countries, as well as other national security issues, the newspaper said.