Convicted Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira pleads guilty to obstruction of justice

Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member convicted of leaking highly classified documents about the war in Ukraine, used his court-martial Thursday to describe himself as a “proud patriot” who was trying to expose the supposed “lies” of the Biden administration.

After pleading guilty to military charges of obstructing justice, the 23-year-old acknowledged he knew his actions were illegal but felt he needed to share the truth about how the Biden administration was, in his view, misleading the American public about the war in Ukraine.

“If I saved even one American, Russian or Ukrainian life against this senseless money-grab war, my punishment was worth it,” he said, adding that he was “comfortable in how history will remember my actions.” 

Teixeira drew parallels with President Donald Trump, alleging he too was a victim of a weaponized Justice Department. He called on the Trump administration to “review my double prosecution and punishments with an eye towards reversing deep-state actions and showing truth, no matter how embarrassing to the Biden administration.”

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Teixeira was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest for sharing classified documents on a Discord chatroom. 

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The leaks exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. The documents also revealed assessments of the defense capabilities of Taiwan and internal arguments in Britain, Egypt, Israel, South Korea and Japan. Teixeira also admitted to posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.

Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, worked as an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. His lawyers described Teixeira as an autistic, isolated individual who spent most of his time online, especially with his Discord community, and never meant to harm the U.S.

The security breach forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks also embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take the required action regarding Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.