Leaked secret documents: American soldier guilty

Open in full screen mode

Under By agreement with prosecutors, Jack Teixeira admitted to disseminating information related to the national defense of the United States, but spared himself the more serious charges of espionage.

Agence France- Press

A young American soldier arrested in 2023 for a leak of classified defense documents, notably on the war in Ukraine, pleaded guilty on Monday before American justice, sealing an agreement for 16 years in prison against the dropping of the charges. more serious charges for espionage.

Jack Teixeira, 22, appeared in federal court in Boston wearing &# x27;an orange inmate outfit. He admitted to disseminating information relating to the national defense of the United States, but prosecutors will not charge him with espionage, which would have earned him a much harsher sentence, probably life in prison.

According to this legal agreement, the recruit of the Air Force National Guard will escape a criminal trial, but will be sentenced by a judge to 16 years and eight months of imprisonment, $50,000 fine and must help intelligence officials understand how the leak was possible.

Jack Teixeira had so far pleaded not guilty, after being indicted by a federal grand jury (jury of citizens who participate in the investigation phase) on six counts of charge of willful retention and transmission of information relating to national defense, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Federal police (FBI) arrested him on April 13 outside his family home in Dighton, south of Boston , a few days after the revelations of these leaks in the American press.

Open in full screen mode

The FBI arrested Jack Texeira on Thursday in connection with the leak of highly classified Pentagon documents.

Hired as a computer and communications specialist on a military base near Cape Cod, a historic city in New England, he published confidential information on a discussion group on the Discord platform, which subsequently circulated on d& #x27;other social networks.

Secret documents revealed US intelligence concerns about viability of a Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces. They also implied that Washington was collecting intelligence on its closest partners, notably Israel and South Korea.

LoadingConservative victory in the riding of Durham

Conservative victory in Durham constituency

ELSEWHERE ON INFO: Conservative victory in the riding of DurhamLoading in progressConservative victory in the riding of Durham

Conservative victory in the riding of Durham

ELSE ON NEWS: Conservative victory in the constituency of Durham

The affair embarrassed Washington and raised questions about possible security breaches, while the young soldier had a defense secret clearance, allowing him to access this critical information, despite his modest rank.

The Teixeira affair recalls, to a much lesser extent, the case of Edward Snowden, a service employee American intelligence agency which revealed in 2013 that the United States had a mass surveillance system around the world.