BOSTON – Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira is in federal custody and will face a judge Friday. The 21-year-old is being charged under the Espionage Act for allegedly sharing classified military documents on an online gaming forum.
“We talk a lot about what we classify. Once it’s classified, we now need to start talking about who has access to it,” says former Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Juliette Kayyem, questioning military oversight and Teixeira’s access to sensitive information.
Teixeira is an Airman 1st Class in the Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing with an E-3 ranking, meaning he’s had very little time in the military.
“Someone had confidence in him, that possibly they did a background check,” Kayyem said. “Why are they not capturing this really weird behavior online?”
WBZ asked that question directly to Army intelligence officer Lt. Col. Paul Lushenko, the Deputy Director of Cornell’s Tech Policy Institute.
“There’s any number of ways this E-3 in the Air Force at 21-years-old could have gathered this information. Potentially deceiving his authorities to gain access to information in classified spaces,” Lushenko said.
CBS Boston
Attorney General Merrick Garland describes Teixeira’s behavior as bravado not ideology, despite sharing information about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues.
“We know that there is a whistleblower mentality with people like Edward Snowden. Regardless of that this is a violation of national law,” Lushenko said.
I-Team sources say Teixeira will remain in FBI custody Thursday night and will make an appearance in federal court in Boston Friday.
