Jack Teixeira, who leaked Pentagon secrets, could be sentenced to up to 17 years in prison

This artist’s rendering shows Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira (right) appearing in U.S. District Court in Boston on April 14, 2023. (Margaret Small/AP)

BOSTON – A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents related to the war in Ukraine is expected to be sentenced in federal court on Tuesday.

Prosecutors argued that Jack Teixeira should be sentenced to 17 years in prison, saying he “committed one of the most significant and significant Espionage Act violations in American history.”

“As both a member of the United States Armed Forces and a warrant holder, the defendant swore an oath to defend the United States and protect its secrets – secrets vital to the national security of the United States and the physical safety of Americans serving abroad.” prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira violated his oath almost every day for more than a year.”

Teixeira’s lawyers will argue that U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani should sentence him to 11 years in prison. In their sentencing memorandum, they acknowledged that their client “made a terrible decision and repeated it for 14 months.”

“This is a crime that deserves serious consequences,” the lawyers wrote. “Jack has fully accepted responsibility for the injustice of his actions and is now prepared to accept whatever punishment is due.”

Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in March to six charges under the Espionage Act of intentional retention and transmission of national defense information. This comes almost a year after he was arrested in the most significant national security leak in years.

The 22-year-old actor admitted to illegally collecting some of the country’s most sensitive secrets and sharing them with other users on social media platform Discord.

When Teixeira pleaded guilty, prosecutors said they would seek a prison sentence at the high end of the sentencing range. But the defense wrote that 11 years “is sufficient to take into account serious and deterrent considerations and would essentially equal half the life Jack has lived thus far.”

His lawyers described Teixeira as an autistic, isolated individual who spent most of his time online, primarily in the Discord community. They said that although his actions were criminal, they were never intended to “harm the United States.” He also had no previous criminal record.

“Instead, his goal was to educate his friends about world events to ensure they were not misled by false information,” the attorneys wrote. “To Jack, the Ukraine war was his generation’s World War II or Iraq, and he needed someone to share the experience with.”

But prosecutors disputed that, saying Teixeira did not suffer from a mental disability that prevented him from knowing right from wrong. They argued that Teixeira’s post-arrest diagnosis of “mild, high-functioning” autism “has questionable relevance to these proceedings.”

The security breach raised alarm about America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to protect classified information and disciplined members found to have willfully failed to take appropriate action regarding Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.

As part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, Teixeira worked as a cyber transportation systems specialist, primarily an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. He continues to serve in the Air National Guard without pay, an Air Force official said.

Authorities said he first wrote down the confidential documents he had accessed, then began sharing photos of the files marked CONFIDENTIAL and TOP SECRET. Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and that authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and an Xbox gaming console in the trash at his home.

The leak allowed bare classified assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine to be revealed to the world, including information on troop movements in Ukraine and the supply of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted to publishing information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving abroad.