Court-Marcial convictions for Mass. Teixeira National Guard

Local news

Teixeira declared himself guilty last year for six positions of intentional retention and transmission of national defense information under the espionage law.

Bedford, Massachusetts (AP) -A court was convened on Monday for the member of the Massachusetts National Guard, Jack Teixeira, who was sentenced in the Federal Court last year 15 years in prison for filtering highly classified military documents after the most consistent national security violation in years.

Teixeira declared himself guilty last year for six positions of intentional retention and transmission of national defense information under the espionage law. It faces additional military charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice in the martial court.

His lawyer, Lieutenant Colonel Bradley Poronsky, argued that the position of obstructed justice must be dismissed or could not, saying that it is equivalent to a double danger because it was already considered in the November judgment of Teixeira. Lieutenant Colonel Peter Havern for the Prosecutor’s Office argued against dismissal, saying that the position involves a different behavior at a different time to the acts that obstructed justice in the federal case.

Judge Vicki Marcus took the defense motion under advice and said the procedure would resume on Thursday. Regarding the position of disobedment orders, the Court acknowledged that there is a guilt agreement, but none of the parties offered any detail. The court is expected to repeat the details of the agreement with Teixeira on Thursday.

Teixeira, 22, remains in the National Air Guard in an unpaid state for now. He carried his military uniform for the procedures at the Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts and commented only to tell the judge who understood the process. Several family members attended.

Military prosecutors said the martial court is appropriate since obeying orders is the “absolute core” of the military. Teixeira’s lawyers had argued that more actions would be equivalent to processing it twice for the same crime.

The leaks exposed to the secret evaluations without ornaments from the world of Russia’s War in Ukraine, including information on the movements of the troops in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to the Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted having published information about the plans of an American adversary to damage US forces that serve abroad.

Before being sentenced last year in Boston, Teixeira showed little emotion while standing in the court and apologized for illegally collecting some of the most sensitive secrets of the nation and sharing them with other users on the Discord social networks platform.

“I wanted to say, I’m sorry for all the damage I brought and caused,” said Teixeira. “I understand that all the responsibility and consequences fall only on my shoulders and I accept what it brings.”

His mother and others had submitted letters to the federal judge who was looking for clemency.

“I know that Jack deeply regrets his actions and is ready to accept his punishment on the other hand in this situation,” wrote his mother, Dawn Dufault. “While I understand the severity of their positions and the importance of guaranteeing justice, I implore, his honor, to consider the true nature of Jack and his unique challenges, as I have observed over the years.”

Teixeira’s lawyers described him as an isolated autistic person who spent most of his online time, especially with his discord community, and never intended to damage the United States. “His intention was to educate his friends about world events to make sure they were not deceived by erroneous information,” they wrote. “I needed someone to share the experience.”

The prosecutors counteracted that Teixeira did not suffer from any intellectual disability and that their diagnosis subsequent to “mild and high functioning” was of “questionable relevance.”

Security violation forced the administration to fight to try to contain diplomatic and military consequences. The leaks also embarrassed the Pentagon, which hardened the controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members who found intentionally in taking the required measures on Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.

Teixeira, by Northton Dighton, Massachusetts, was part of the 102nd intelligence wing at the National Guard Base Otis Air in Massachusetts. He worked as a specialist in cyber transport systems, which is essentially a specialist in information technology responsible for military communications networks.

The authorities said that he first wrote classified documents he accessed and then began to share photographs of files that carried secret and secret marks.

The prosecutors said they tried to cover their traces before their arrest: the authorities found an crushed tablet, a laptop and an Xbox game console in a garbage container.