Federal prosecutors recommend 17 years in prison for Pentagon whistleblower

Federal prosecutors plan to recommend a 17-year prison sentence for a Massachusetts Air National Guard member who leaked highly classified military documents related to the war in Ukraine to a Discord server.

Jack Teixeira, who was 21 at the time of his arrest in April 2023, pleaded guilty in March to six charges of knowingly possessing and transmitting national defense information under the Espionage Act.

Over the course of several months, Teixeira allegedly posted hundreds of pages secret military intelligenceincluding an assessment of the Russian and Ukrainian military, to the Thug Shaker Central Discord group. The publications went unnoticed for several months, but eventually his superiors warned him that he was handling classified documents.

Prosecutors said in a court document Tuesday that Teixeira “committed one of the most significant and consistent violations of the Espionage Act in American history.” According to the Associated Press. Teixeira’s lawyers are expected to recommend a sentence of 11 years in prison.

“As a member of the United States Armed Forces and a security clearance holder, the defendant took an oath to defend the United States and protect its secrets—secrets that are vital to U.S. national security and the physical safety of Americans serving overseas,” the statement said. prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira broke his oath almost every day for over a year.”

Defense lawyers argued that 11 years was enough to prevent other potential crimes and that it was about half of their client’s life. They also argued that although Teixeira broke the law, he did not intend to “harm the United States.”

“Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to ensure they were not misled by misinformation,” the lawyers wrote. “For Jack, the war in Ukraine was World War II or the Iraq War of his generation, and he needed someone to share that experience with.”

Teixeira is scheduled to be formally sentenced on Tuesday, November 12.

Misty Severy is the evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.