The FBI arrested Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old US national guardsman, on suspicion of leaking hundreds of confidential Pentagon documents.
The member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard has emerged as a key figure in the release of highly classified military papers related to the Ukraine war.
Teixeira had the Highest Level of Security Clearance
At a press conference on Thursday, Attorney-General Merrick Garland stated that Mr. Teixeira had been arrested and charged with unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of secret defense material.
According to an official Department of Defense communication acquired by Fox News, Teixeira, who joined the Air National Guard in September 2019, possessed the highest level of security clearance granted by the federal government for top-secret intelligence.
According to another internal government document, his security clearance and access to confidential government systems were removed.
Teixeira was most recently assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base. According to the unit, he was promoted to Airman 1st Class in July.
The FBI began investigating Teixeira in connection with the leaks before but were obliged to speed up their preparations to arrest him after The New York Times named him on Thursday morning, according to a source knowledgeable on the inquiry.
Teixeira was the chairman of a Discord group dubbed ‘Thug Shaker Central’ that included 20 to 30 young males.
Teixeira began sharing secret papers with the private group in recent months, but the breaches received wider attention after another member released them in a public forum.
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Revealed US Intelligence Efforts in Ukraine War
The dozens of documents reviewed by CBS News featured intelligence regarding the Ukrainian war, such as predicted Russian airstrikes on specific sites and other Russian military plans.
The data provide an unprecedented look into the United States’ attempts to assist the Ukrainian government, as well as the extent to which US intelligence services have entered Russian communication channels to aid Ukrainian soldiers.
The documents also revealed that the US kept tight eyes on its friends. One document contains transcripts of conversations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his top military official.
Another relayed South Korean leaders’ worries about providing ammunition to Ukraine.
A third stated that heads of Israel’s intelligence service encouraged intelligence officials and Israeli civilians to protest the government’s contentious judicial changes.
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