Court-martial for Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira begins, with plea deal looming
PHOTO CAPTION: An undated picture shows Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard, who was arrested by the FBI, over his alleged involvement in leaks online of classified documents, posing for a selfie at an unidentified location. Social Media Website/via Reuters
By Nate Raymond
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Court-martial proceedings began on Monday for Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who is facing military charges after already being sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking classified U.S. national security documents online.
During a hearing at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, a military judge said Teixeira, 23, had reached an agreement to plead guilty but that his lawyers had preserved the right to first argue the charges against him should be tossed.
Those military charges were filed last year following what U.S. authorities say was one of the largest leaks of classified documents in years, including some related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Prosecutors say that Teixeira, while serving as an airman first class at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, in January 2022 began accessing classified information that he shared with individuals on Discord.
Air Force prosecutors say Teixeira obstructed justice by then disposing of an iPad, computer hard drive and iPhone after the leaks were uncovered in April 2023, and instructed someone to delete online messages Teixeira had sent on the Discord messaging app.
The Air Force pursued charges only after Teixeira had already pleaded guilty in March 2024 to separate charges brought by the U.S. Justice Department that he willfully retained and transmitted classified information relating to national defense.
"This is the government's second bite at the apple to multiply his exposure," defense attorney Lieutenant Colonel Bradley Poronsky told Military Judge Colonel Vicki Marcus.
He argued the case amounted to a violation of Teixeira's right under the U.S. Constitution to not be prosecuted twice for the same offense, saying a federal judge in Boston already punished him for the alleged obstruction when she sentenced him in November to 15 years in prison.
If convicted of the military obstruction charges, Teixeira could face another 10 years in custody. He could also face a dishonorable discharge or a reduction in rank.
An Air Force prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel Pete Havern, countered that military charges against Teixeira were "very different" than those he faced in civilian court and that there was nothing unreasonable about punishing someone for multiple, different offenses.
"These charges do not violate the Constitution's prohibition on double jeopardy," he said.
Marcus recessed the proceedings until Thursday, by which point the judge is expected to rule.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
