Pentagon documents leak case: Jack Teixeira’s detention hearing delayed

A judge has postponed the detention hearing for Jack Teixeira, who is accused of leaking hundreds of classified documents related to military intelligence from the Pentagon, while he awaits trial.

The defense and prosecution both agreed to cancel Wednesday’s detention hearing, delaying it for roughly two weeks. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy agreed to the request.

PENTAGON REVIEW OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION HANDLING WILL BE ‘A LONG-TERM EFFORT’

Teixeira, a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman, allegedly first leaked text related to classified documents to an invite-only chat group on Discord in December 2022, and about a month later, he began taking photos of the documents instead.

Teixeira was charged under the Espionage Act on Friday for the unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, as well as the unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials.

The accused leaker worked as a cyber transport systems journeyman who ensured the Air Force’s “vast, global communications network” was operating correctly. He is an airman 1st class, which is the third enlisted rank an airman will make, and he had one achievement medal during his time in the service. He held a top-secret security clearance, granted to him in 2021.

On April 6, Teixeira “used his government computer to search classified intelligence reporting for the word ‘leak,'” the arrest affidavit said, the same day that the New York Times revealed the existence of the leaked documents. This helped federal investigators lock in Teixeira as connected to the breach.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Teixeira is accused of releasing hundreds of classified documents to his Discord chat group, which was created during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. It consisted of roughly 25 members, including some foreigners.

A number of the Pentagon documents suggested U.S. intelligence penetrated the highest levels of the Russian military, including information from the Russian Defense Ministry outlining attacks against two separate Ukrainian troop positions.