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Jack Teixeira receives 15 years in prison for Pentagon leaks

Topline

Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison – a sentence between what prosecutors and his lawyers sought – after he agreed to plead guilty in March to intentionally disseminating national defense information saved and shared because he leaked documents about the Ukraine War and other military-related topics on Discord, multiple outlets reported.

Important facts

Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard soldier who remains unpaid in the Guard, according to the Associated Press, received his 180-month sentence Tuesday in Boston.

Under a plea agreement he accepted in March, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of intentionally storing and transmitting classified information in exchange for federal prosecutors agreeing not to pursue further charges against him under the Espionage Act.

Teixeira's lawyers asked for the minimum sentence of 11 years allowed in the plea, arguing that the 22-year-old regrets the harm his actions caused, that he has “his whole life ahead of him” and that he “never intended to do it.” “to harm the United States,” but “to educate his friends about world events to ensure they are not misled by misinformation.”

However, prosecutors sought the maximum sentence as part of the plea deal – nearly 17 years – arguing that Teixeira “committed one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history” and that the damage he caused to national security was ” extraordinary”.

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Important background

Teixeira became a member of the National Guard in 2019 and worked in an intelligence unit on Cape Cod. In 2021, he received a top secret security clearance that required him to receive “extensive training in the handling of classified information, the harm that disclosure of the information could cause, and the criminal penalties he could face for intentionally transmitting national defense information,” demanded prosecutors. Shortly after receiving approval, however, Teixeira began writing down information from classified documents and taking photos of it to post on a private Discord server – reportedly also containing information about U.S. officials' predictions about the outcome the Ukrainian military efforts. Prosecutors said that while he posted the information online “to feed his own ego and impress his anonymous friends,” in doing so he caused “extraordinary harm to the national security of the United States.” The information was later shared on other social media platforms and Teixeira was arrested in April 2023 and has been in federal custody since then.

Crucial quote

“The scale of his betrayal is breathtaking. “The damage he caused is immeasurable,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.

Further reading

ForbesJack Teixeira accepts 16-year prison sentence for leaking Pentagon documents on DiscordFrom Molly Bohannon

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