A young soldier was charged Friday by federal justice in the United States, suspected of being at the origin of the leak of a series of confidential American documents on the war in Ukraine, which puts Washington in the embarrassment.
Jack Teixeira, 21, was presented in federal court in Boston (northeast) on Friday, where he appeared dressed in a beige prison jumpsuit.
The Air National Guard recruit was charged with “unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information,” and “unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials,” according to a court document.
Facts punishable respectively by ten and five years in prison. Justice Minister Merrick Garland has promised to seek "very heavy sentences".
The young man was remanded in custody pending a new hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
The day after his arrest, all eyes were on this young soldier, who allegedly took advantage of his position to distribute confidential and sensitive documents on operations in Ukraine to a private group on the Discord social network.
Since Thursday, the aerial images of his arrest in Dighton, a small rural town in Massachusetts, or his photo in uniform, looking a little frail, holding a cell phone in front of him, have been looping.
The case also raises questions about possible security breaches and how a young recruit was able to gain access to such documents.
The confidential documents, some of which later circulated on Twitter and Telegram among others, reveal in particular US intelligence concerns about the viability of a Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces.
They also suggest that Washington collect intelligence on its closest allies, including Israel and South Korea.
According to the Washington Post, they further indicate that US intelligence was aware of the overflight of sensitive equipment by four more Chinese spy balloons than the one spotted in February and shot down by the US military.
One of these spy balloons flew over an American aircraft carrier maneuvering with its airborne group in the Pacific, according to the daily.
The National Guard said Jack Teixeira enlisted in September 2019, worked as a computer and communications specialist and reached the rank of first class enlisted, the third lowest in the hierarchy.
Jack Teixeira had had a "top secret" security clearance since 2021, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent in support of the prosecution.
“People who sign undertakings to receive classified documents recognize the importance to national security of not disclosing these documents. And we intend to send a message (to show) how important this is for our national security," Merrick Garland said.
The Discord group, in which Jack Teixeira played the role of leader under the pseudonym "OG", was formed in 2020 around a mutual passion for firearms, military equipment and religion, according to the New York Times and the Washington Post.
“OG” had asked other members of the Discord group not to distribute the documents, assuring that he had no intention of being a whistleblower, according to the Washington Post. He was critical of the state -- whose "abuse of power" he denounced --, law enforcement and the intelligence community.
According to the FBI agent's statement, Jack Teixeira began publishing classified information last December.
First, excerpts from paragraphs of documents, then photographs of the documents themselves.
President Joe Biden, visiting Ireland, told the press that he had asked the Pentagon to determine "why" the young soldier had "access to these documents" and to assess the extent of the leaks. "I don't think it's going to take very long," he added.
Defense Minister Lloyd Austin announced on Thursday that he had ordered an "audit of access to our intelligence".
These dozens of photos of confidential documents have no doubt been circulating for weeks, if not months, before attracting the attention of the press.
However, US authorities have not publicly confirmed the authenticity of these documents posted online, and it has not yet been independently verified.
Many of these documents are no longer available on the sites where they originally appeared.
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04/15/2023 03:19:13 - Boston (United States) (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
