Air National Guardsman arrested in Pentagon document leak investigation
By: Tom Vanden Brook, Kevin Johnson, Ella Lee and Bart Jansen (USA TODAY via Yahoo)
USA Today is in deep, deep trouble now. Do -- not -- mention -- Chelsea Manning. Chelsea Manning was the leaker pardoned by Barack Obama.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the arrest Thursday of Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman in Massachusetts suspected of leaking classified documents about the war in Ukraine.
Teixeira, 21, is charged with the alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information, Garland said. He will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
"FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident," Garland said. "We will share more information at the appropriate time."
Teixeira is an enlisted member of the 102nd Intelligence Wing based in Cape Cod. He is also the leader of an online chat group who has shared an interest in guns and racist memes.
The leaked documents appear to be highly sensitive reports tied to the war effort in Ukraine, including data on military activities like U.S. drone spy planes in the area and Ukrainian forces' use of ammunition. They appear to show how the U.S. views Ukrainian forces' training and state of readiness, plus the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and equipment destroyed in the ongoing conflict, as well.
More than 100 U.S. documents were leaked in all. The files also contained sensitive, classified information about the war in Ukraine, Russian military activity, China and the Middle East.
Teixeira oversaw a private Discord channel called Thug Shaker Central, according to multiple reports. The private chat group was comprised of about 20 to 30 people, mostly young men and teens, the reports say.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder on Thusday declined to comment on the investigation, referring questions to the Justice Department.
Stringent guidelines are in place to protect classified information and are under review, Ryder said. Everybody with a security clearance signs a non-disclosure agreement.
The leak, Ryder said, "was a deliberate criminal act."
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is conducting daily meetings to review the scope and impact of the leaks and mitigation measures, Ryder said.
Chelsea Manning was also low-level military intelligence analyst and found responsible for a massive leak of secrets. Manning was eventually convicted and sentenced to 35 years for leaking more than 700,000 classified documents, including battlefield reports on Iraq and Afghanistan and State Department cables, while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
Manning said the leaks were intended to expose wrongdoing. She was pardoned by President Barack Obama.
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If this information was so sensitive then why did low level people have access? An Air National Guardsman? Really?
I read a report where he had Top Secret clearance. That level is possible given his job title of Cyber Transport Systems Journeyman. If he was working with encrypted communications systems, which the job title seems to imply to me, then he could have had access to almost anything that went thru the system. After 9/11 the intelligence community went thru a big change where they tried to get rid of the silos in order to better utilize cross-referenced intelligence to try to avoid another issue where nobody was putting the pieces together in order to prevent another 9/11. Perhaps they went too far, it would seem in this case that they may have.
The young man was assigned to a intelligence unit. As long as he was able to successfully pass the background and security checks with no problem, age and rank are less of a issue.
Why would an ANG intelligence unit need access to sensitive geopolitical information? That's well above an ANG commander's pay grade. If low level analysts can get this information so easily then imagine what a concerted espionage effort could access.
I'm sure that we will eventually find out, but nothing that I have seen indicates that he should have had access to those items. Perhaps his supervisor was having him do his job for him, or perhaps he just made a habit of dumpster diving to see what he could find.
One way or another, I think that more than 1 head will be rolling before this is over.
In many instances, ANG Units are integrated into and join active duty and reserve component forces for exercises. The airborne electronic warfare and electronic intelligence gathering EC-130J are flown by ANG and Air Force Reserve units.
No, we won't find out. All of that is hidden behind national security classifications and the American public is not privy to such information. The public can't even be informed about what was recovered from the downed Chinese balloon that everyone saw.
At present there is a mad scramble to line up the usual suspects. Whatever is publicly revealed to identify scapegoats won't be the actual facts. And the scapegoats will come from the lowest levels of intelligence activity. A high level mole is an asset that can't be burned.
Just remember that Colonel Vindman is a hero and not someone with a Soviet past.
The EC-130J is a psyops aircraft designed to broadcast information; not gather intelligence. If psyops is involved then nothing about this story can be considered reliable. Psyops could have deliberately prepared misleading information and orchestrated the leak. The leaked intelligence information may not even be real.
Of course they are. It wouldn't surprise me if some backroom lawyer is trying to develop a link to blame Trump. hehe
I was using the EC-130J solely as a example of a classified electronic asset used by the ANG.
I was with you up until your last sentence. Vindman a hero? No, at all and not to me. At best he was a self serving opportunist to myself and a lot of other vets. But that's all I will say about him.
What Vindman said about the Trump phone call was completely true. Shortly after Vindman came forward Trump released an audio of the phone call. Everything Vindman claimed was in there was in there.
If I am the kid's lawyer I am suggesting he put a skirt on quickly and go for the Chelsea Manning defense. It's the only way to avoid severe consequences for releasing truths about the war.
You might want to rethink that. Manning spent 7 years in prison.
No need to rethink, the charges carry very serous time. Seven years is a gift, not to mention that it may be possible to get into a women's federal prison where you could then hook up with the CEO of Theranos.
You may have skipped reading the article or forgotten, Chelsea Manning was pardoned for wearing a skirt by Barrack Obama. Biden won't pardon this young man but the next Democrat president will if he is then a she and dressed accordingly. Sometimes you have to play the long game to beat the system and shorten time.
I certainly hope sentencing is more severe, but it's obvious you never spent any time in prison.
Chelsea Manning wasn't pardoned. Her sentence of 35 years was commuted. Two totally separate things. A pardon is forgiving a crime, while commutation only reduces the time. The 35 year sentence was the longest ever given (I would have sentenced her to be coated in honey and staked on an anthill, but no one asked me). Part of the reason for the commutation given by the Whitehouse at the time was her that she had acknowledged her wrongdoing.
Thinly bigoted posts aren't good legal advice.