Prosecutors seek a 17-year prison term for Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira

BOSTON (AP) — Prosecutors scheme to reason that a Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded blameworthy to leaking highly classified subject documents astir nan warfare successful Ukraine should service astir 17 years successful prison.

In a sentencing memorandum revenge Tuesday, prosecutors said Jack Teixeira “perpetrated 1 of nan astir important and consequential violations of nan Espionage Act successful American history.”

“As some a personnel of nan United States Armed Forces and a clearance holder, nan suspect took an oath to take sides nan United States and to protect its secrets — secrets that are captious to U.S. nationalist information and nan beingness information of Americans serving overseas,” prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira violated his oath, almost each day, for complete a year.”

Teixeira’s attorneys will reason that U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani should condemnation him to 11 years successful prison. He is scheduled to beryllium sentenced Nov. 12.

In their sentencing memorandum, they acknowledged that their customer “made a unspeakable determination which he repeated complete 14 months.”

“It’s a crime that deserves superior consequences,” nan attorneys wrote. “Jack has thoroughly accepted work for nan wrongfulness of his actions and stands fresh to judge immoderate reward must now beryllium imposed.”

Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded blameworthy successful March to six counts of nan willful retention and transmission of nationalist defense accusation nether nan Espionage Act astir a twelvemonth aft he was arrested successful nan astir consequential nationalist information leak successful years.

The 22-year-old admitted that he illegally collected immoderate of nan nation’s astir delicate secrets and shared them pinch different users connected nan societal media level Discord.

When Teixeira pleaded guilty, prosecutors said they would activity a situation word astatine nan precocious extremity of nan sentencing range. But nan defense wrote Tuesday that nan 11 years is simply a “serious and capable to relationship for deterrence considerations and would beryllium fundamentally adjacent to half nan life that Jack has lived frankincense far.”

Describing Teixeira arsenic autistic, isolated and spending astir of his clip online particularly pinch his Discord community, his attorneys said Teixeira’s actions, though criminal, were ne'er meant to “harm nan United States.” He besides had nary anterior criminal record.

“Instead, his intent was to amended his friends astir world events to make definite they were not misled by misinformation,” nan attorneys wrote. “To Jack, nan Ukraine warfare was his generation’s World War II aliases Iraq, and he needed personification to stock nan acquisition with.”

Prosecutors, though, countered that Teixeira does not suffer from an intelligence disablement that prevents him from knowing correct from wrong. They based on that Teixeira’s post-arrest test arsenic having “mild, high-functioning” autism “is of questionable relevance successful these proceedings.”

“Whatever developmental aliases societal difficulties Teixeira whitethorn person experienced, his determination to illegally disclose nationalist defense accusation and put nan lives of different group astatine consequence was a volitional prime that he made knowingly, willfully, and pinch afloat consciousness of nan consequences clip and clip again,” prosecutors wrote.

The information breach raised siren complete America’s expertise to protect its astir intimately guarded secrets and forced nan Biden management to scramble to effort to incorporate nan negotiated and subject fallout. The leaks embarrassed nan Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified accusation and disciplined members recovered to person intentionally grounded to return required action astir Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.

Teixeira, who was portion of nan 102nd Intelligence Wing astatine Otis Air National Guard Base successful Massachusetts, worked arsenic a cyber carrier systems specialist, which is fundamentally an accusation exertion master responsible for subject communications networks. He remains successful nan Air National Guard successful an unpaid status, an Air Force charismatic said.

Authorities said he first typed retired classified documents he accessed and past began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. Prosecutors besides said he tried to screen his tracks earlier his arrest, and authorities recovered a smashed tablet, laptop and Xbox gaming console successful a dumpster astatine his house.

The leak exposed to nan world unvarnished concealed assessments of Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine, including accusation astir unit movements successful Ukraine, and nan proviso of supplies and instrumentality to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira besides admitted posting accusation astir a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.