Baby-faced Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira copped a plea deal Monday that could land him more than 16 years behind bars for committing one of the most serious national security breaches in years.
The disgraced former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, 22, entered federal court in Boston, Mass., shackled and dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit and nodded to his family before the proceeding, according to a Washington Post reporter on X.
Teixiera then pleaded guilty to all six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information against him — charges that could have ended with him serving up to 60 years in prison.
Teixeira’s family later issued a statement seemingly blaming his National Guard unit and its “lackadaisical work atmosphere, lack of adequate training and oversight, combined with a complete disregard for policy or procedure” for his actions.
Prosecutors have said the explosive case was not about espionage but instead a badly misguided low-level airman who wanted to impress his online gaming buddies, boasting he had top-security clearance on “stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China,” the New York Times reported.
But the risk posed by Teixiera — who led a chat room on Discord that he dubbed “Thug Shaker Central” — was grave, the feds said.
Among the data he was accused of sharing were top-secret Pentagon documents detailing intelligence assessments of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including “how the equipment would be transferred, and how the equipment would be used upon receipt,” a federal indictment shows.
Teixiera acknowledged in court that he abused his security clearance to transfer classified documents from government computer networks and to print out and photograph classified documents, which he then posted on Discord.
The defendant was arrested in April at his mother’s home in North Dighton, Mass., after the secret information started to spread online.
His guilty plea Monday marked a reversal from last year, when he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
As part of Teixeira’s deal with prosecutors, the former guardsman agreed to accept a prison sentence of between 11 and 16 years and eight months.
A federal judge is set to formally sentence him in September. The judge is expected to follow the plea deal’s guidelines in terms of how much jail time Teixiera could get, given the pact has already been signed off on by authorities including top US intelligence officials, the Times said.
Under the deal, Teixiera also will be charged a $50,000 fine and face three years of supervised release once he gets out of federal prison.
He was ordered to have a debriefing with members of the Department of Defense and Justice Department, too, and to return any national security documents that may still be in his possession, according to the court documents.
Additionally, he agreed “that he has a continuing legal obligation to refrain from the unauthorized oral or written disclosure of classified information, or information relating to the national defense,” the plea deal reads.
In exchange, federal prosecutors said they would not charge Teixera with additional crimes under the Espionage Act.
“To say the events of the past year have been challenging doesn’t even scratch the surface of what this family has had to endure,” Teixeira’s family said in its statement Monday.
“As parents, it is unfathomable to think your child would ever be involved in something so serious, but he has taken responsibility for his part in this, and here we are.
“However, what remains are more questions spurred by the shocking details revealed by the Inspector General’s investigation of the 102nd Intelligence Wing on how the lackadaisical work atmosphere, lack of adequate training and oversight, combined with a complete disregard for policy and procedure ‘directly and indirectly contributed to what happened,” the family argued.
“The issues described are not new problems at the base; they are woven into the fabric of the culture.
“We hope the IG report is taken seriously by the Air Force and the leadership at the 102nd Intelligence Wing, and substantive changes are made to stop this from ever happening again,” the kin said.
His relatives added that they are now focusing on “his protection, health and well-being and taking care of whatever is in his best interests.
“Beyond anything, Jack is a beloved son, brother, nephew and friend,” they wrote. “But above all, Jack is a good person.”
Teixeira enlisted in the US Air National Guard in 2019 — and despite being a low-tiered airman, was granted top-secret security clearance in 2021, according to the Justice Department.
During that time, Teixeira worked as a cyber transport systems journeyman for the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
He was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod when he began posting classified documents online in January 2022, the DOJ said.
The astounding national security breach was considered the most serious since former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks in 2010.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the information Teixeira posted online “reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if shared.”
By December, 15 members of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, including his former unit commander, were also disciplined for failing to supervise him and neglecting to inform authorities about his espionage-like behavior.
With Post wires