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☆ Air Force preparing new charges against airman who leaked classified info on Discord
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US Air Force is preparing new charges within the military justice system against the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year to posting a trove of highly classified intelligence reports and other documents on social media, according to an Air Force spokesperson. But after “close coordination” with the Justice Department, the Air Force has“determined that separate and distinct charges” should be referred against Teixeira “for alleged misconduct related to his military duties,” the spokesperson said. The Air Force will hold a first hearing to review evidence on May 14 at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, the spokesperson said. Prosecutors alleged that while working at a Cape Cod airbase, Teixeira posted messages that included classified information in a Discord chat room called “Thug Shaker Central” before eventually posting photos of documents marked as classified. The documents, some of which were reviewed by CNN, included a wide range of highly classified information, such as blunt assessments on the state of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Teixeira “, Teixeira, “, ”, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz Organizations: CNN, US Air Force, Massachusetts Air National, Air Force, Prosecutors, Justice Department, Department of Justice, United States Air Force, Military, The Air Force, Hanscom Air Force Base Locations: Massachusetts, Russia, Ukraine, States

☆ Jack Teixeira pleads guilty to leaking sensitive national defense information
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of highly classified intelligence reports and other documents on social media pleaded guilty on Monday to willfully retaining and disseminating national defense information. Jack Teixeira, 22, pleaded guilty to all six counts he faced under the espionage act during a hearing Monday morning. Teixeira stood between his two defense lawyers as he pleaded guilty Monday morning. According to court documents, Teixeira ran an obscure chat room on the social media platform Discord called “Thug Shaker Central,” where members posted memes and talked about guns and religion. Teixeira first began posting messages that included classified information in the Discord chat, according to prosecutors, and eventually posted photos of documents marked as classified.

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Teixeira, ”, Judge Indira Talwani, “, ” Teixeira, Michael Bachrach Organizations: CNN, Massachusetts Air National, Department of Defense, Prosecutors, Shaker, ” Prosecutors, US Air Force Locations: Massachusetts, ”, Cape Cod, Russia, Ukraine, States, Boston

A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting secret intelligence reports and sensitive documents online agreed to plead guilty on Monday in exchange for a 16-year sentence and a commitment to comprehensively brief officials on the extent of his leaks. The airman, Jack Teixeira, withdrew his not-guilty plea during an appearance in Boston federal court and pleaded guilty to six counts of “willful retention and transmission of national defense information,” according to court documents filed by the government. The judge in the case, Indira Talwani, scheduled a hearing in September to determine whether she would sign off on the deal. It would be highly unusual for a judge to make major alterations to a deal that required approval from top American intelligence and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department agreed not to charge him with violations of the Espionage Act, which, when combined with the other charges, could have resulted in a sentence of up to 60 years in prison had he been convicted.

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Indira Talwani Organizations: Massachusetts Air National, The Justice Department Locations: Boston

☆ NATO says it is addressing an apparent cyberattack after strategy documents posted online
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —NATO says it is “actively addressing incidents” affecting its unclassified websites after a hacking group claimed to have stolen numerous strategic planning and research documents from the alliance. The trove of purported NATO documents posted online in the last week covers topics such as hypersonic weapons, threats from drones, and testing procedures for radioactive waste. “NATO is facing persistent cyber threats and takes cyber security seriously,” a NATO official said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. “NATO cyber experts are actively addressing incidents affecting some unclassified NATO websites. Additional cyber security measures have been put in place.

Persons: ”, SiegedSec Organizations: CNN, NATO, Massachusetts Air National Locations: Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — A contractor for the U.S. government has been arrested on espionage charges, accused of providing a foreign country classified information that he downloaded and printed from his work computer system, the Justice Department said Thursday. Abraham Teklu Lemma, who is originally from Ethiopia, had a top secret security clearance and access to classified information through contracting positions with the departments of State and Justice. Court papers do not identify the country Lemma is accused of spying for, and a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. Lemma, 50, of Silver Spring, Maryland, is a naturalized U.S. citizen, the Justice Department said. The department said it would continue to implement recommendations from that review to improve its protection of classified information.

Persons: Abraham Teklu, “ Roger, Eric Tucker Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Justice Department, State, Justice, The New York Times, Prosecutors, State Department, Massachusetts Air National, Twitter Locations: Ethiopia, , Maryland, U.S

☆ Two US Navy sailors arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive military information with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Two US Navy sailors have been indicted and arrested for allegedly sending sensitive US military information to Chinese intelligence officers. The other sailor who has been arrested, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme in California. In return, Wei allegedly received thousands of dollars. The indictment indicates that Wei received US citizenship during this period, with the Chinese intelligence officer allegedly congratulating Wei on receiving citizenship on May 18, 2022. Much of the information Wei allegedly sent to the Chinese officer was stored on restricted-access Navy computer systems that Wei was able to access because he had a security clearance.

Persons: Jinchao Wei, Wenheng Zhao, Wei, Zhao, “, ” Matt Olson, Zhao “, ” Martin Estrada, ”, Jack Teixeira, Randy Grossman, Brig, Patrick Ryder, ” Ryder Organizations: CNN, US Navy, Naval Base San, Southern, Southern District of, Navy, Naval Base, People’s, Prosecutors, Central, Central District of, Massachusetts Air National Guard, US Locations: Naval Base San Diego, Southern District, Southern District of California, Pacific, Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, California, People’s Republic, Essex, Okinawa, Japan, Central District, Central District of California, China, United States

☆ Pentagon leaks suspect Jack Teixeira pleads not guilty to federal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Worcester, Massachusetts CNN —Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents on social media, pleaded not guilty in a Massachusetts court Wednesday to six federal charges. Teixeira, 21, was indicted earlier this month on several counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to the national defense. The Massachusetts native stands accused of sharing classified military documents on the social media platform Discord. The documents included detailed intelligence assessments of allies and adversaries alike, including the state of the war in Ukraine. Teixeira held a top-secret security clearance, and internal Air Force memos that prosecutors highlighted in court revealed that his superiors repeatedly warned him about inappropriately accessing classified intelligence.

Persons: Massachusetts CNN — Jack Teixeira, Teixeira, Texeira, “, Jack, Jen Reed, ” Organizations: Massachusetts CNN, Air National, Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, Air Force Locations: Worcester, Massachusetts, Ukraine

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - A federal grand jury has indicted a U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top-secret military intelligence records online, the Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday. Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defense, the statement said. He was arrested in April after allegedly posting highly classified material on the messaging app Discord, prompting concerns about how a low-level airman could have such broad access to military secrets. The leaked documents held highly classified information on allies and adversaries, with details ranging from Ukraine's air defenses during the Russian invasion to Israel's Mossad spy agency. A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, Teixeira had earlier waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Persons: Jack Douglas Teixeira, Teixeira, Joe Biden, leaker, Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, Kanishka Singh, Sarah N, Lynch, Rami Ayyub, Susan Heavey, Paul Grant, Eric Beech Organizations: U.S . Air National, Justice Department, WikiLeaks, Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence, Thomson Locations: North Dighton , Massachusetts

☆ Jack Teixeira: Federal grand jury indicts accused Pentagon leaker on six counts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Jack Teixeira, a junior enlisted airman who worked within the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, was arrested in April and charged under the Espionage Act. He allegedly took classified information from Otis Air National Guard Base and is accused of posting the information to Discord, a popular social media platform among gamers. This artist depiction shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appearing in U.S. District Court in Boston, April 14, 2023. Defense lawyers for Teixeira have argued he didn’t expect classified information that he posted on Discord to be further spread around the internet. Prosecutors, his lawyers had previously argued, were being “hyperbolic” in their assessment of whether he could risk further compromising classified information.

Persons: Jack Teixeira, “ Teixeira, Margaret Small, Teixeira, “, David Hennessy, I’m, ‘, ’ Organizations: CNN, The Air National, Justice Department, Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence, Otis Air National Guard Base, National, Ukrainian, Prosecutors, Air Force Locations: States, U.S, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

☆ Airman Who Leaked Files Is Indicted on Charges of Mishandling Secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who posted dozens of secret intelligence reports and other sensitive documents on a social media server, on six counts of retaining and transmitting classified national defense information. The filing of criminal charges in Boston federal court against Airman Teixeira, 21, comes about two months after F.B.I. But it was not immediately clear how many of the vaguely described incidents that underlie the charges had been previously disclosed and which ones were being made public for the first time. Airman Teixeira’s disclosures — exposing secrets of the United States, its allies and its adversaries — have bared rifts between the United States and its allies and given Russia information about intelligence-gathering methods, as news organizations have divulged some of the material. And Justice Department lawyers have said the extent of the information he leaked “far exceeds what has been publicly disclosed.”

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Teixeira, —, ” Organizations: Massachusetts Air National, Department Locations: Boston, North Dighton, United States, Russia

☆ Why Doesn’t Anyone Care About the Discord Leaks? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Serge Schmemann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In April, secret documents allegedly photographed by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard began making their way into the mainstream media. Many were briefings prepared by military intelligence services, and much of it dealt with the Russia-Ukraine war. They offered Americans a rare window into the government’s most valuable intelligence on one of Europe’s deadliest conflicts since World War II. The Pentagon did say that the latest disclosures — widely known as the “Discord Leaks” — present a “very serious risk to national security.” But there has been curiously little public interest in the spilled secrets. Reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump has followed a similar pattern, though the case revolves around a former president’s handling of classified files, not leaked secrets.

Persons: We’ve, Hillary Clinton, Edward Snowden, Barack Obama, Jack Teixeira, Donald Trump Organizations: Massachusetts Air National Guard, WikiLeaks, Army, National Security Agency, Pentagon Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, United States

☆ Defense personnel alarmed after memos reveal Air Force leadership warned about accused Pentagon leaker but let him continue working
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Haley Britzky Sean Lyngaas Zachary Cohen Natasha Bertrand | Haley Britzky | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Teixeira was arrested on April 14 and has been charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials. His defense lawyers have argued he didn’t expect classified information that he posted on Discord to be further spread around the internet. According to one current US service member who handles classified intelligence, the memos read as if Teixeira’s leadership was building a case for disciplinary action against him. Jobs under the 1N0 and 1N4 job codes would have given him more hands-on responsibilities with intelligence, the current service member and a former enlisted intelligence airman told CNN. But the current service member said it would not be unusual for senior non-commissioned officers to handle disciplinary matters with a junior enlisted airman like Teixeira.

☆ US military leak suspect got offer to bolster intelligence skills
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Tim Mclaughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

As a low-level airman, Teixeira had broad access to military secrets at the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing. He received a warning, and was admonished again a month later after asking detailed questions at a briefing, according to the Justice Department. Attorneys with the Justice Department argue that Teixeira cannot be trusted to live at home with his father. Even after his warnings last year, Teixeira bragged online in early January that he had broad access to top secret information. “I have stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China,” Teixeira said on social media, according to prosecutors.

WORCESTER, May 19 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday ordered the Air National Guardsman accused of leaking military secrets to remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges he violated the Espionage Act. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy made the decision after lawyers for Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, asked for him to be released to house arrest pending trial. Teixeira leaked classified documents to a group of gamers on the messaging app Discord, according to prosecutors. While a low-level airman, Teixeira had broad access to military secrets at the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, according to U.S. Justice Department lawyers. “I have stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China,” Teixeira said on social media, according to prosecutors.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect was caught stuffing notes he'd taken in a top-secret room inside his pocket, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He was caught taking notes on classified information before his arrest, prosecutors said Wednesday. Superiors had warned Teixeira on multiple occasions, but he didn't listen, they said. The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman has been indicted in connection to a classified information leak that involved hundreds of Pentagon documents. Some of the documents Teixeira is accused of leaking online included details about Russia's spy agencies' activities and details about aid to Ukraine. However, federal prosecutors are arguing that Texeira poses a security risk because he must still be in possession of classified documents.

☆ Military Caught Airman Mishandling Secrets Before Arrest but Left Him in Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Robin Stein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Air Force officials caught Airman Jack Teixeira taking notes and conducting deep-dive searches for classified material months before he was charged with leaking a vast trove of government secrets, but did not remove him from his job, according to a Justice Department filing on Wednesday. On two occasions in September and October 2022, Airman Teixeira’s superiors in the Massachusetts Air National Guard admonished him after reports that he had taken “concerning actions” while handling classified information. Those included stuffing a note into his pocket after reviewing secret information inside his unit, according to a court filing ahead of a hearing before a federal magistrate judge in Worcester, Mass., on Friday to determine whether he should be released on bail. Airman Teixeira — who until March shared secrets with scores of online friends from around the world on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers — “was instructed to no longer take notes in any form on classified intelligence information,” lawyers with the department’s national security division wrote in an 11-page memo arguing for his indefinite detention. The airman’s superiors also ordered him to “cease and desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information,” although it is not clear how, or if, they enforced that directive.

☆ Accused Leaker Received Repeated Warnings Over Handling of Classified Information, Prosecutors Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nancy A. Youssef | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A courtroom sketch shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira in U.S. District Court in Boston last month. Photo: Margaret Small/Associated PressNearly seven months before federal authorities charged an airman with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, members of his unit saw him take notes from classified information, access classified information not related to his job and repeatedly told him to stop, according to memos submitted as part of prosecutors’ latest court filings.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira was preparing for a violent 'race war' against Black and Jewish people, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jack Teixeira, 21, was charged with leaking secret Pentagon documents last month. The Air National Guard member was preparing for a violent "race war," The Washington Post found. "He used the term 'race war' quite a few times," a close friend of Teixeira's, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity, said. "He was afraid they would target White people," his friend told the Post. His online presence also revealed conspiratorial thinking and further racist thinking, including about Jewish people and Muslims.

CNN —Iran smuggled weapons and military equipment into Syria using humanitarian aid shipments as a cover following a devastating earthquake there in February, two sources familiar with US intelligence and an Israeli defense official told CNN. Intelligence officials believe the weapons were destined for Iranian proxy groups in Syria, who have repeatedly attacked US military personnel stationed there as part of the anti-ISIS coalition. “The humanitarian assistance of Iran to Syria was used as an umbrella of moving weapons capabilities into the region,” the Israeli defense official said. Reuters earlier reported that regional and western officials believed Iran was smuggling the weapons under the guise of earthquake relief. Foreign aid poured into Syria and Turkey after February’s earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people.

☆ Jack Teixeira appeared to be stockpiling weapons just before his arrest for leaking classified Pentagon documents, chat logs show
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Prior to his arrest for leaking classified Pentagon documents, Jack Teixeira was stockpiling weapons, The New York Times reported. The Times spoke to a Discord user who was in frequent contact with the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman. The user said Teixeira often spoke of his fascination with mass shootings and acquiring new weapons. The user, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity, said Teixeira claimed to be stockpiling weapons and military gear. The anonymous source told The Times that Teixeira spoke of his aspirations to confront protestors he might come in contact with during the 2024 presidential campaign.

☆ Ukrainian president says he learned of Pentagon leak from news reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jack Forrest | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had no conversations with the White House after a trove of classified US intelligence documents were posted on social media, he told The Washington Post Monday. In an interview with the Post, Zelensky said he learned about the Pentagon leak through news coverage and claimed he “did not receive information from the White House or the Pentagon beforehand.”“We did not have that information. “I don’t want to speak for President Zelensky. While FBI and Pentagon officials piece together how a junior enlisted airman allegedly smuggled classified intelligence documents off a secure air base, defense and intelligence sources say the leak exposed glaring weaknesses in how the Pentagon safeguards its most sensitive secrets. Teixeira faces charges under the Espionage Act after allegedly posting the sensitive intelligence to the social media platform Discord, but has yet to enter a plea.

Photo Illustration: Madeline MarshallFederal prosecutors and the defense team representing a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with taking and sharing highly classified intelligence documents argued ahead of a high-profile court hearing Thursday over whether he should remain in custody while his criminal case proceeds. Prosecutors are seeking Airman First Class Jack Teixeira’s continued detention, saying he might still have access to sensitive material that could aid foreign adversaries. He has been jailed since his arrest earlier this month.

☆ Jack Teixeira Could Still Have Access to Classified Documents, Prosecutors Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sadie Gurman | Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo Illustration: Madeline MarshallThe Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with taking and sharing highly classified intelligence documents might still have access to sensitive material that could aid foreign adversaries, federal prosecutors said Wednesday in court filings seeking his continued detention. Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, who has been jailed since his arrest earlier this month, “accessed and may still have access to a trove of classified information that would be of tremendous value to hostile nation states that could offer him safe harbor and attempt to facilitate his escape from the United States,” prosecutors said late Wednesday in a filing.

Photo Illustration: Madeline MarshallA judge was considering Thursday whether to further detain Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with taking and sharing highly classified intelligence documents, after prosecutors argued he would obstruct their probe if he were freed. “I’m going to take the matter under advisement,” Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy said after nearly an hour and a half of arguments from both sides.

☆ Airman Accused of Leak Has History of Racist and Violent Remarks, Filing Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified documents online, repeatedly tried to obstruct federal investigators and has a “troubling” history of making racist and violent remarks, Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing late Wednesday. In an 18-page memo, released before a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday in a Massachusetts federal court, the department’s lawyers argued that Airman Teixeira needed to be detained indefinitely because he posed a “serious flight risk” and might still have information that would be of “tremendous value to hostile nation states.”Airman Teixeira tapped into vast reservoirs of sensitive information, an amount that “far exceeds what has been publicly disclosed” so far, they wrote. Prosecutors pointedly questioned Airman Teixeira’s overall state of mind, disclosing that he was suspended from high school in 2018 for alarming comments about the use of Molotov cocktails and other weapons, and trawled the internet for information about mass shootings. He engaged in “regular discussions about violence and murder” on the same social media platform, Discord, that he used to post classified information, the filing said, and he surrounded his bed at his parents’ house with firearms and tactical gear.

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