Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison | Al Jazeera News

Prosecutors sought 17 years in prison for “significant” violations of the Espionage Act.

Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking classified documents about the war in Ukraine and other military secrets.

A federal judge in Boston, US, sentenced the 22-year-old on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of intentionally storing and disclosing national defense information under the Espionage Act.

Prosecutors had argued for a 17-year prison sentence for Teixeira, saying he had committed “one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history.”

“The defendant took an oath to defend the United States and protect its secrets – secrets critical to U.S. national security and the physical security of Americans serving abroad,” prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira broke his oath almost every day for over a year.”

The breach raised questions about the U.S.'s ability to protect secrets

Teixeira, from North Dighton, Massachusetts, was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod.

He worked as a cyber transport systems specialist – essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks.

Authorities said he shared the secret documents on the messaging app Discord.

Teixeira began typing up copies, which he then published online.

He later photographed the files, some of which were marked “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET.”

The documents contained information about allies and adversaries, including troop movements in Ukraine, as well as top secret information about Israel's Mossad spy agency. Teixeira also admitted to publishing information about a U.S. adversary's plans to harm U.S. forces stationed abroad.

The breach raised questions about the U.S.'s ability to protect its secrets and embarrassed President Joe Biden's administration, which has struggled to contain the diplomatic and military fallout.

Teixeira's lawyers asked for a lighter sentence of 11 years, saying their client had no political agenda and was not working as a spy for a foreign government. In their sentencing document, they admitted that their client “made a terrible decision that he repeated for 14 months.”

“Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to ensure that they were not misled by misinformation,” the lawyers wrote.

“For Jack, the Ukraine War was the Second World War or the Iraq of his generation, and he needed someone to share that experience with.”

They noted that Teixeira had never been convicted of a crime before.

But prosecutors countered that Teixeira does not suffer from any intellectual disability that would prevent him from knowing right from wrong, adding that his post-arrest diagnosis of “mild, high-functioning” autism was of “questionable relevance” to the case ” be.

“I wanted to say, 'I'm sorry'”

Teixeira apologized to the court for his actions before being sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani.

“I wanted to say, 'I'm sorry for all the harm I've done and caused,'” Texeira said, referring to the “madda” he caused among family and friends.

“I understand that all responsibility and consequences rest solely on my shoulders and I accept everything this will entail,” he said. Teixeira hugged one of his lawyers, looked at his family and smiled before being led out of court.

As part of his admission of guilt, he cannot be accused of any further violations of the Espionage Act.