Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira pleads guilty to military obstruction charges

BOSTON (Reuters) - Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for leaking classified U.S. national security documents online, on Thursday pleaded guilty to military charges of obstructing justice.

Teixeira, 23, entered the plea following the commencement of court-martial proceedings earlier this week at Hansom Air Force Base in Massachusetts under a deal that calls for no additional time in custody and for him to be dishonorably discharged, according to one of his attorneys.

He pleaded guilty after Military Judge Colonel Vicki Marcus rejected Teixeira's bid to have the charges tossed on the grounds that they violated his right to not be prosecuted twice for the same offense, after the U.S. Department of Justice had earlier prosecuted him in civilian court.

The plea was confirmed by his lawyer in the Justice Department case, Michael Bachrach. Teixeira is expected to be sentenced later on Thursday. The Air Force had no immediate comment.

The military charges were filed last year following what U.S. authorities say was one of the largest leaks of classified documents in years, including some related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Prosecutors say that Teixeira, while serving as an airman first class at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, in January 2022 began accessing classified information that he shared with individuals on Discord.

Air Force prosecutors say Teixeira obstructed justice by then disposing of an iPad, computer hard drive and iPhone after the leaks were uncovered in April 2023, and instructed someone to delete online messages Teixeira had sent on the Discord messaging app.

The Air Force pursued charges only after Teixeira had already pleaded guilty in March 2024 to separate charges brought by the Justice Department that he willfully retained and transmitted classified information relating to national defense.

Teixeira was subsequently sentenced in November by a federal judge in Boston to 15 years in prison.



(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Daniel Wallis)