Intelligence

Justice Department Charges Suspected Leaker of Classified Documents

Hyemin Han
Friday, April 14, 2023, 11:22 AM

The 21-year-old from Massachusetts is charged with two counts having to do with unauthorized release of national defense information and classified material.

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On Friday, the Justice Department charged the Massachusetts Air National Guard member suspected of releasing sensitive U.S. documents on the gaming messaging platform Discord. Jack Teixeira is charged on two counts: unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information (18 U.S.C. § 793(b) and (d)), and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material (18 U.S.C. § 1924). 

According to the affidavit released alongside the criminal complaint, the FBI obtained records from Discord linking Teixeira’s full name and billing to the username and account he used to post the documents on the platform. Following his alleged leaking of the documents, the affidavit states, Teixeria conducted searches on government computers to try and gain information on the government’s inquiry into the leak.

You can read the criminal complaint, followed by the affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, here or below: 

 


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Hyemin Han is a J.D. candidate at Yale Law School. She was previously an associate editor at Lawfare and an eviction defense paralegal in Boston. She holds a BA in government from Dartmouth College.

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