Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old suspected leaker, appears in court

Pentagon classified documents ‘leaker’ says ‘I love you, Dad’ in court as he’s hit with two federal charges over intelligence breach: Does not enter plea and is detained as Biden administration faces questions over how he got hands on nation secrets

• Jack Teixeira, 21, has appeared in court in Boston
• He has been charged for leaking classified documents  
• The National Guard member posted secret intelligence in an online chat room 

Jack Teixeira has appeared in court in Boston to be charged with leaking classified information and military secrets.

Fresh questions are being asked as to how the 21-year-old, accused of being behind the humiliating security breach, got clearance to access sensitive documents.  

Teixeira, wearing handcuffs and a khaki prison jumpsuit, was read the charges shortly after 10 a.m. local time during an appearance at a Massachusetts federal court.

The National Guard member did not enter a plea, but judges ordered that he should remain in detention until next week. 

Teixeira’s next hearing has been set for Wednesday, April 19, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement.

 Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard who was arrested by the FBI over his alleged involvement in leaks online of classified documents, poses for a selfie at an unidentified location

A 21-year-old US Air Force National Guard employee has been arrested over the leak of highly sensitive US defence and intelligence documents

According to the charge sheet, Teixeira received top security clearance in 2021 as a member of the National Guard.

The document, filed by the US government, quotes FBI special agent Patrick Lueckenhoff as saying Teixeira would have ‘signed a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement.’ 

He adds the suspect ‘would have had to acknowledge that the unauthorized disclosure of protected information could result in criminal charges.’

Teixeira posted a slew of of highly classified military documents that touched upon the Ukraine war and other national security issues.

FBI investigators arrested him at his mother’s home in Dighton, Massachusetts on Thursday before bundling the 21-year-old into the back of a police van.

Teixeira posted the treasure trove of top secret files under his online user name ‘Jack the Dripper’ for months before the leak was uncovered.

He worked as a junior cyber security specialist in the intelligence unit based at the Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod.

It is believed to have started on a site called Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games. 

Teixeira is believed to have posted about guns, games and top secret US government information.

 

 

This document appears to show the state of Ukraine’s air defenses in February and in May, when it is anticipated they’ll be badly depleted

He was identified as the ringleader of a chatroom, known as Thug Shaker Central, on Discord, an invite-only platform.  

He then allegedly posted images of folded-up papers because he felt his writings weren’t being taken seriously, the Associated Press reported.

Officials at the US Justice Department have opened a probe into the 21-year-old, whose actions embarrassed US  allies around the world.

Long-standing friends of Washington from Britain to South Korea and Israel slammed much of the information as bogus. 

It outlined possible arms deliveries to Ukraine, as well as details of Western-led training for the Ukrainian armed forces.

But in an interview with ABC News,  one of the country’s most senior military officials dismissed the leak’s impact on Kyiv’s battlefield plans.

‘This will not be able to affect the real results of the offensive operation,’  said Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s head of military intelligence.

The country’s top spy is credited for being one of the few Ukrainian officials to correctly predict the timing of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. 

The 21-year-old’s actions have been roundly criticized by lawmakers from all political parties.

But he received support from far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who mistakenly referred to him as ‘Jake Teixeira’ on Twitter. 

In yet another unhinged social media rant, the Congresswoman representing Georgia’s 14th District claimed he was being prosecuted because of his skin color.

‘Jake Teixeira is white, male, Christian, and antiwar,’ Greene said. ‘That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime.’

The 48-year-old repeatedly parrots Kremlin talking points on Ukraine, including the entirely fictional claim that that the country is overrun with Nazis. 

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