Jack Teixeira was just 21 years old last year. arrested and was charged with one of the worst military leaks in recent U.S. history.Teixeira, a former Massachusetts Air National Guard pilot, is accused by the government of leaking “top secret” U.S. intelligence, including Confidential details about the war in Ukraine. Now, a spokesperson for Teixeira’s family has confirmed that Teixeira plans to plead guilty to the charges against him after months of maintaining his innocence.
On Thursday, Teixeira’s attorneys filed a motion to change the plea hearing to next Monday. Reported by National Public Radio. Shortly after, Teixeira family spokesperson Jane Reed told reporters that the former pilot planned to plead guilty at a hearing. Teixeira pleaded not guilty last summer.
Teixeira currently Accused of numerous serious crimes, including the illegal retention and transmission of national defense information.The story goes like this: As part of his duties as a former IT technician at Otis Air National Guard Base, Teixeira grant access Special compartments of information include information about the war in Ukraine, the locations of U.S. spy satellites and phone intercepts of Russian generals. Teixeira is accused of abusing that authority by copying sensitive intelligence and then sharing it freely online.
As far as intelligence leaks go, Teixeira’s case is notable for its apparent lack of ideological motivation. For most leakers, they are trying to share information they believe is important with the public. Teixeira, for his part, doesn’t seem interested. Instead, the narrative surrounding the leak suggests that Teixeira was motivated by a childish desire to impress other members of the Discord group he frequented. “The information I’m providing here is less than half of what’s out there,” Teixeira write to those members, in one example. “All of this I told you I shouldn’t have done.”
Teixeira faces decades in prison on charges related to illegally withholding defense information.