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☆ Wagner chief said his troops are no longer withdrawing from Bakhmut after being promised as many artillery shells as they need
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The leader of the Wagner fighters said they would not retreat from Bakhmut after being promised ammo. Wagner Group fighters have played a key role in bloody fighting in the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine for months. Concord Press Service/via REUTERSThe outspoken Prigozhin and Russia's military leaders have been feuding for months. Recent leaked Pentagon documents shared by National Guard airman Jack Teixeira revealed analysis suggesting Russia's military leadership has struggled to deal with Prigozhin. The Wagner Group had become a major power player in the war, scoring some publicized wins in Ukraine when Russia's invasion was floundering.

Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guardsman implicated in a vast leak of classified documents, was fixated on weapons, mass shootings, shadowy conspiracy theories — and proving he was in the right, and in the know. Even as he relished the respectability and access to intelligence he gained through his military service and top secret clearance, he seethed with contempt about the government, accusing the United States of a host of secret, nefarious activities: making biological and chemical weapons in Ukrainian labs, creating the Islamic State, even orchestrating mass shootings. “The FBI and other 3 letter agencies contact these unhinged mentally ill kids and convince them to do mass shootings,” Airman Teixeira, 21, wrote in an online chat group, sharing a debunked conspiracy theory after a gunman killed three people at a mall in Indiana last summer. In messages posted on Discord, a social media platform popular among gamers, Airman Teixeira claimed that the 20-year-old gunman behind the rampage at Greenwood Park Mall was one of many mass shooters groomed by the American government as part of a secret plot “to make people vote for” gun control.

☆ Leaked docs show 'Putin's chef' is increasingly at odds with the Russian leader over Wagner mercenary deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who leads the mercenary Wagner Group, appears to have turned on Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, Prigozhin vowed to withdraw troops from Ukraine, blaming Putin for their deaths. But his decades-long allyship with the Russian leader may be coming to an end. Prigozhin has compared the ongoing Bakhmut battle to a "meat grinder," Insider previously reported, with the mercenary leader acknowledging that his men were dying at extremely high rates due to the shortage. Prigozhin's relationship with Putin began in the 1990s after the business tycoon set up a catering company that frequently served the Russian leader and the Kremlin, eventually earning him the nickname "Putin's chef," Insider previously reported.

☆ 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.

Other NATO allies have donated 10 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, according to the State Department. Depending on the location and strength of the jamming, a rocket can still launch and result in a successful strike with significant damage. Widespread Russian jamming can have drawbacks for their own forces as well, impacting their ability to communicate and operate. For nearly a year, the HIMARS system has been the longest-range rocket system Ukraine has, allowing troops to fire up to six rockets in quick succession at Russian positions as far as 50 miles away. “Jamming is like the weather or the terrain, it’s something that happens that you have to deal with,” the official said.

☆ 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.

☆ Airman in Leaks Case Worked on a Global Network Essential to Drone Missions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — On an Air National Guard base in Cape Cod, Mass., more than 1,200 military service members and civilians maintain one of the largest support systems for Pentagon drone missions around the world. One of the workers was Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old accused of posting top-secret military reports online. It is also the result of a dramatic reorganization in the Air National Guard nearly two decades ago that left small, far-flung air bases in need of new responsibilities. The one on Cape Cod and many others became intelligence outfits. His arrest and subsequent Justice Department disclosures shined a light on a little-known Air Force mission that began in the 1990s and grew rapidly, eventually spreading to the base on Cape Cod.

☆ Denied a Gun License Over School Threat, Accused Leaker Jack Teixeira Later Got Top-Secret Clearance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Nancy A. Youssef | Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo Illustration: Madeline MarshallAs a high-school student, the Air National Guardsman charged with leaking classified intelligence documents admitted he made violent threats that prevented him from getting a firearms license. Two years later, however, he secured a top-secret security clearance.

☆ Jack Teixeira: Accused Pentagon leaker's violent rhetoric raises fresh questions about top secret vetting process
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Natasha Bertrand Sean Lyngaas Zachary Cohen Haley Britzky | Natasha Bertrand | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But that didn’t stop the Pentagon from granting a top-secret security clearance to Jack Teixeira, who prosecutors say had an arsenal of weapons at home and a history of violent online rhetoric. And the Air Force’s Inspector General investigation is specifically examining the Pentagon’s vetting process and whether any procedures were violated or ignored, Pentagon officials said. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters on Thursday that when vetting someone for a security clearance, the adjudicator examines “a sufficient period” in someone’s life to determine if they are eligible. That program – largely run by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) – aims to continuously vet security clearance holders for warning signs than periodically investigate them every five to 10 years. “Social media is a new world that the government really hasn’t gotten ahold of yet,” said Brad Moss, a lawyer who specializes in national security and security clearance law.

☆ Live updates: Jack Teixeira, suspect in US documents leak, makes court appearance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Maureen Chowdhury | Elise Hammond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

A detention hearing for suspected document leaker Jack Teixeira is underway now in Massachusetts. A judge will decide whether he should continue to be detained as he faces charges under the Espionage Act. He is accused of posting a trove of US classified documents to social media. Meanwhile, the suspect's lawyers argued that he no longer has access to classified documents and accused prosecutors of exaggerating Teixeira’s danger to national security, according to a Thursday morning court filing. Defense lawyers suggested that Teixeira be released into the custody of his father, a military veteran and former correctional officer.

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.

[1/6] Photo evidence collected during the investigation into U.S. Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who is accused of leaking classified documents online, is released in a document by the U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERSApril 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, accused of leaking classified documents online, may still have access to classified materials, federal prosecutors said in court documents filed on Wednesday. Teixeira also "took steps to obstruct the government's investigation" into the leaks, prosecutors said, in a motion filed ahead of a hearing into his detention. "His release would heighten the risk that he would make further unauthorized disclosures of classified national defense information," prosecutors said in the documents. The motion said that in February 2022 Teixeira began to access hundreds of classified documents that had no bearing on his job.

☆ 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.

☆ Two U.S. Air Force commanders suspended in unit of accused intelligence leaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force has suspended two commanders from the National Guard unit where accused classified intelligence leaker Jack Teixeira served, a USAF spokesman said on Wednesday. The Air Force spokesman said on Wednesday that it had suspended the operation commander and detachment commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, where Teixeira served. The Air Force did not identify the commanders by name. "This means that both the squadron's state Air National Guard operational commander and current federal orders administrative commander have been suspended pending completion of the Department of the Air Force Inspector General Investigation," the spokesman said. "Also, the Department of Air Force has temporarily removed these individuals' access to classified systems and information," he said.

☆ Prosecutors say they fear foreign enemies could try to recruit Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira because of what he knows and his limited net worth — half of which is in guns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Federal prosecutors want Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira to remain in custody. They argue in court documents the 21-year-old could flee the country, or harm US national security. They fear he might he tempted to flee the country or become a person of interest to US adversaries. Court documents filed Wednesday night show prosecutors expressing concern that Teixeira's release could pose a tremendous risk to US national security. "The damage the Defendant has already caused to the US national security is immense," they wrote in the court documents.

☆ Feds found a smashed Xbox and more in a dumpster at Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira's house. Prosecutors allege he was covering his tracks.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jack Teixeira, who is suspected of leaking secret Pentagon documents, is due back in court. In court documents, they also allege that he tried to cover up his tracks by destroying evidence. Prosecutors allege they were destroyed to try and cover his tracks. "These efforts appeared calculated to delay or prevent the government from gaining a full understanding of the seriousness and scale of his conduct," prosecutors allege in the court documents. The documents contain sensitive information about US allies — like Israel, South Korea, and Egypt — and also its adversaries, like China, Russia, and North Korea.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira boasted online he'd thought of everything and was untraceable, FBI investigator says. Now he faces decades in prison.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Pentagon leak suspect allegedly boasted on social media that he was untraceable and had thought of everything. But FBI investigators found him by asking Discord for the subscriber info connected to his username. Teixeira is suspected of leaking hundreds of classified documents and faces up to 25 years in prison. In new court documents filed late Wednesday evening, an FBI investigator, special agent Luke Church, revealed a number of incriminating text exchanges between Teixeira and other users on the platform. Teixeira was arrested on April 13 and now faces up to 25 years in prison.

WORCESTER, Mass. — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified documents online, will remain in custody while a judge considers new evidence that raised serious questions about the military’s decision to grant him a high-level security clearance. During a tense 90-minute hearing on Thursday, lawyers for the Justice Department asked a federal magistrate judge in Massachusetts to detain Airman Teixeira indefinitely pending his trial, arguing that his history of violent and racist remarks, coupled with his attempts to obstruct its investigation, made him a “serious flight risk.”The magistrate judge, David. H. Hennessy, did not immediately rule on the matter, saying he needed more time to consider that motion and a request by the airman’s court-appointed lawyers that he be immediately released to his parents’ custody on $20,000 bond.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira had a stash of guns in his army-themed bedroom and talked about mass shootings, legal filings show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In new court documents, prosecutors said he had a history of making violent and "racist" threats. Teixeira had a gun locker two feet from his bed filled with an "arsenal" of weapons, they said. "In the gun locker were multiple weapons, including handguns, bolt-action rifles, shotguns, an AK-style high-capacity weapon, and a gas mask," the prosecutors said. Jack Teixeira's bedroom, according to court documents. Department of JusticeSome of the documents Teixeira is accused of leaking included details about Russia's spy agencies' activities, details about aid to Ukraine, and information about casualties on both sides.

☆ U.S. military leak suspect to appear in court; had arsenal, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Tim Mclaughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jack Douglas Teixeira was arrested by the FBI on April 13 at his home in Massachusetts and charged with violating the Espionage Act. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts on Thursday afternoon for his detention hearing. Prosecutors say the 21-year-old leaked classified documents, including some relating to troop movements in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to a group of gamers on the messaging app Discord. In 2018, while in high school, Teixeira was suspended after he was overheard making racial threats and remarks about guns. Teixeira attributed those remarks to a reference in a video game, according to prosecutors.

☆ The Pentagon treats top secret information 'like toilet paper,' says the Vietnam War whistleblower
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

There's no reason to think the Discord leak has damaged US national security, Daniel Ellsberg said. "Top secret is like toilet paper" at the Pentagon, said Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers. Ellsberg told The Washington Post that the US government tends to keep a "mystique of secrecy." "At the Pentagon, top secret is like toilet paper, it's nothing," the former military analyst told the outlet. Like Teixeira, Ellsberg was charged by the US government in January 1973 for revealing classified information.

☆ WSJ Opinion: Feeling Lucky, Democrats Back Non-Compos Presidential Politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Wsj Opinion | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E126WSJ Opinion: Jack Teixeira and the Gamification of Accountability Wonder Land: When we began to devalue conscience, blurring a pragmatic understanding of right from wrong, we unleashed the whirlwind that engulfs us now. Images: Margaret Small/Reuter/Zuma Press Composite: Mark Kelly

☆ Leak of Government Secrets Adds Pressure to Overhaul Security Clearances
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Ben Kesling | Dustin Volz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How the U.S. government clears personnel to see and share its secrets is coming under new pressure after the alleged leak of classified information by Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, according to federal reviews of the process and lawmakers. The widespread number of both government and civilian jobs requiring access to classified information make the system that provides security clearances to millions of people hard to run effectively, those who study it say. Additionally, an explosion of the amount of classified material produced by the government—estimated to be in the billions of records annually—has eroded the significance of classification levels and complicated efforts to create walls around what is truly sensitive, say former officials and outside analysts who study the system.

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