According to journalists, Teixeira agreed to hand over all relevant documents in his possession. Prosecutors will ask the judge to impose a 200-month prison sentence.
A US National Guard soldier accused of publishing large amounts of classified intelligence reports and other Pentagon documents on social media has pleaded guilty. CNN writes about it.
Teixeira, 22, reportedly pleaded guilty to all six charges he faced under the Espionage Act.
According to court documents, Teixeira agreed to meet with representatives of the intelligence community and the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as to turn over any relevant documents in his possession or whose location he knew.
In return, prosecutors will ask the judge to sentence Teixeira to 200 months in prison, or more than 16 years, the journalists said.
“The proposed harsh sentence is far less than the potential decades in prison he would have faced had he not taken the deal,” reporters said.
Prosecutors reportedly promised not to file additional charges against Teixeira under the Espionage Act.
“Jack Teixeira will never learn classified information for the rest of his life,” said Massachusetts District Attorney Josh Levy.
“This criminal complaint brings accountability and closes a chapter that has been deeply damaging to our nation’s security,” said Matt Olsen, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for national security.
The news stated that the final decision would be made by a federal judge in September. The Massachusetts native has been in custody since his initial arrest in April 2023.
Journalists say the document leak shocked the intelligence world when it first emerged last year. The result revealed shortcomings in how the Pentagon protects its most important secrets.
According to court documents, Teixeira ran a little-known chat room on Discord called “Thug Shaker Central,” where members posted memes and talked about guns and religion.
While working at a military base on Cape Cod, the defendant allegedly conducted unauthorized searches of government databases, despite repeated warnings from his superiors not to do so.
Prosecutors said Teixeira first began posting messages containing classified information and eventually posted photos of documents marked confidential.
The documents contained a wide range of highly classified information, including wiretap data on key allies and enemies, as well as scathing assessments of the state of the Russia-Ukraine war and more.
Leak of classified Pentagon documents: what is known
Let us recall that on April 7, 2023, The New York Times, citing its sources, reported that secret US military documents were published on the Internet. NATO and Washington’s plans To increase the strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine before the counter-offensive.
NYT and Bellingcat journalists managed to identify the personHe allegedly leaked Pentagon data. We are talking about 22-year-old American pilot Jack Teixeira. He was arrested on April 13 on suspicion of leaking classified US information to the internet.
At the meeting dated June 21, 2023 Teixeira did not admit his guilt in each of the counts. In addition, his lawyers stated that he did not expect the confidential data published by the defendant to be distributed on the internet and criticized prosecutors for allegedly exaggerating the risks.
Source: Focus
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