A Massachusetts-based US Air National Guard member was on Thursday arrested in connection with the disclosure of highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top US national security issues, an alarming breach that has raised fresh questions about Washington’s ability to safeguard its most sensitive secrets.
The guard member, an IT specialist identified as 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, was taken into custody without incident after FBI officers converged on his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Teixeira would be charged with removing or transmitting classified national defense information, a crime under the US’ Espionage Act.
Photo: REUTERS / WCVB-TV / ABC
Garland did not reveal a possible motive, but accounts of those in an online private chat group in which the documents were disclosed depicted Teixeira as motivated more by bravado than ideology.
While Thursday’s arrest was a pivotal moment in an investigation into the highest-profile US intelligence leak in years, the US military and the US Department of Justice were still scrutinizing how sensitive government secrets shared in a chat room ended up circulating around the world.
The emergence of Teixeira as a primary suspect is bound to raise questions about how such a profound breach, one that the US Department of Defense termed a “very serious risk to national security,” could have been caused by a young, low-ranking service member.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We entrust our members with a lot of responsibility at a very early age. Think about a young combat platoon sergeant, and the responsibility and trust that we put into those individuals to lead troops into combat,” Pentagon press secretary General Patrick Ryder said.
Teixeira was a “cyber transport systems specialist,” essentially an IT specialist responsible for military communications networks, including their cabling and hubs.
In that role, Teixeira had a higher level of security clearance because he would have also been tasked with responsibility for ensuring protection for the networks, a defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Hours after the arrest, US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner issued a statement pledging to “examine why this happened, why it went unnoticed for weeks, and how to prevent future leaks.”
Teixeira, who was wearing a T-shirt and shorts at the time heavily armed FBI agents arrested him, was yesterday due to have his initial court appearance in Massachusetts.
He could also face charges in a military court.
It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf, and a telephone message left at a number believed to belong to his mother was not returned.
Garland said the investigation is ongoing, but did not say if other suspects were being pursued.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has scrambled to contain the potential diplomatic and military fallout from the leaks since they were first reported last week, moving to assure allies and assess the scope of damage.
Pentagon officials have expressed alarm about the breach.
Biden downplayed the lasting impact of the revelations, telling reporters in Ireland earlier on Thursday that “there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of great consequence.”
The classified documents — which have not been individually authenticated by US officials — range from briefing slides mapping out Ukrainian military positions to assessments of international support for Ukraine and other sensitive topics, including under what circumstances Russian President Vladimir Putin might use nuclear weapons.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS