Federal authorities on Thursday arrested Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who specializes in intelligence. He was stationed at Otis Air National Guard base in the state, court documents show.
Investigators believe the guardsman led an online Discord chat group where he allegedly boasted about access to such documents and where he eventually posted them to prove it.
One question raised is how a low-ranking airman, an E-3, had access to classified documents. A court document viewed by AFN states Teixeira help a Top Secret clearance because he was a Cyber Defense Operations journeyman.
Bob Maginnis, a national security analyst with the Family Research Council, says Teixeira should not have had access to the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF.
“Just because someone is smart,” Maginnis says, “that doesn't mean they're trustworthy.”
Teixeira appeared in a federal court Friday morning in front of a magistrate judge, The Associated Press reported.
Maginnis, who worked in intelligence as a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, says someone in the Massachusetts Air National Guard made an “incredibly poor decision” to give a low-ranking airman easy access to the SCIF.
Among the revelations in the leaked documents is:
*Confirmation of NATO troops in Ukraine
*KIA figures for Russia and Ukraine (which may have been altered)
*Ukraine’s dwindling supply of vital air defense weapons
*President Zelenky’s plans to strike targets inside Russia with armed drones
*U.S. surveillance of allies, such as South Korea and Ukraine, and of the Wagner mercenary group
One leaked document describes the circumstances in which Russia would use nuclear weapons, according to The Associated Press story.
Teixeira is being described by some as a whistleblower for releasing documents that shed light on the Ukraine-Russia war but it appears he did so to show off to the online group.
The airman is also being called a traitor by some for leaking documents, some of which could get intelligence sources killed, but others are hailing him a hero for letting the public know the status of the war.
As far as what happens next for Teixeira, he will not see the light of day anytime soon for what he did, Maginnis predicts.
