The verdict of Jack Teixeira, who exposed Massachusetts military secrets, remains secret.

Former Massachusetts National Guardsman. general military secrets with other video gamers online is getting closer to sentencing, but lawyers are trying to hide even more details from the public.

Jack Teixeira faces a maximum of 16 years and eight months on six counts. intentional retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, according to his plea agreement. He pleaded guilty in federal court in March.

He was originally scheduled to be sentenced in September, but it was postponed from August to November 12. Judge Indira Talwani told attorneys during the plea change hearing that sentencing memoranda must be filed two weeks before the sentencing hearing date.

As that date approaches, his lawyers are now asking that they be allowed to place their sentencing memoranda, which request a specific sentence and the legal justification for such a sentence, under seal because the material they want included is of a “sensitive nature.” ” nature.

In Friday’s motion, defense attorneys write that one of the exhibits included in their memorandum is a “neuropsychological report containing protected health information about Mr. Teixeira that should not be publicly available” and the other is a report from the Department of Aviation Inspector General. A power that was itself sealed away. They say that the note itself will contain quotes from these documents.

“The lawyer negotiated with the government, which agreed to this request. Pursuant to the parties’ deliberations, Mr. Teixeira will subsequently file a redacted version of his sentencing memorandum that will remove any information subject to the protective order other than that which is publicly available from other sources,” a motion filed by attorneys Michael Bachrach and Brendan Kelly states.

In a case that has attracted worldwide attention, the feds Teixeira arrested in April 2023 from North Dayton the home of one of his parents and was initially charged with unauthorized removal and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and storage of classified documents or materials. In June of that year, he was charged with all six charges, to which he eventually pleaded guilty.

Teixeira, who served Cyber ​​Defense Operations Journeyman at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, he leaked more than 40 highly classified military documents, including many related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, to a group of fellow video game players who participated in discussions on a Discord server he ran. A “server” is what the gaming social media platform Discord refers to as individual groups or forums.

The leaked documents had at least some geopolitical effect Quite early, according to multiple reports. The documents included a US intelligence analysis of Taiwan’s air defenses that shows it could be vulnerable to attack by China. Specifically, only half of Taiwan’s aircraft would be “fully operational” in a surprise attack.

It also had an impact on military security both locally and nationally. Fifteen of his fellow airmen at his base were disciplined for allowing a leak, and his unit was deprived of his mission.

Due to the nature of the material leaked by Teixeira, the case itself remained highly classified from the beginning, as U.S. District Judge David Hennessy issuance of a protection order about the evidentiary materials in the case in October of the same year. Added federal public defenders assigned to case New York lawyer Bachrach team, since he already had the necessary level of clearance to work with the materials.

Teixeira will also meet with military tribunal for his actions, but a date has not yet been set.

Originally published: October 25, 2024, 5:01 pm