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28-04-2023
WASHINGTON: US prosecutors say Jack Teixeira, the airman charged with leaking secret military information, may still have access to a trove of classified files.
They said he should remain in jail pre-trial as he could cause “extraordinary” damage to national security.
Prosecutors also said the 21-year-old had a history of making violent and racial threats.
They will make the case for him to remain behind bars at a detention hearing in Massachusetts on Thursday.
Investigators are still working to determine how Teixeira allegedly leaked dozens of files. They are also investigating whether he kept any physical or digital copies.
The documents, which first appeared in the online chat room Discord, included sensitive information about US allies and the war in Ukraine.
Teixeira’s legal team have not commented on the case but they are expected to argue he should not be detained before trial.
In a 48-page court filing on Wednesday, the justice department outlined their argument for keeping Teixeira behind bars.
It said he “may still have access to a trove of classified information” and poses a “serious flight risk” as hostile nations could potentially give him safe haven.
“There simply is no condition or combination of conditions that can ensure the defendant will not further disclose additional information still in his knowledge or possession,” prosecutors wrote.
“The damage the defendant has already caused to the US national security is immense. The damage the defendant is still capable of causing is extraordinary.”
In the filing, prosecutors said Teixeira had accessed large amounts of sensitive information which “far exceeds what has been publicly disclosed”.
Prosecutors also said that, after his arrest, the FBI found a tablet, a laptop and an Xbox gaming console at his home that had been smashed and placed in a dumpster.
They also alleged Teixeira had a history of making violent threats. He discussed violence and murder on Discord and was prone to making “racial threats” on the platform, prosecutors wrote.
The filing also disclosed that Teixeira was suspended during high school when a classmate overheard him making threats and discussing Molotov cocktails as well as other weapons.
Meanwhile, two commanders at Teixeira’s unit, the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron in Massachusetts, have been put on leave pending an investigation.
They have temporarily lost access to classified systems and information, the US Air Force said in a statement. Their names have not been released.
The Air Force told media that more members of Teixeira’s unit could face suspension or removal as the investigation into the leaked documents continued.
The unit was relieved of its intelligence-gathering duties earlier this month.
The leaked intelligence material first appeared in a Discord chat room, which Teixeira is said to have helped administer.
The documents were then shared outside the chat room by some of its members, the FBI said.
The agency earlier said Teixeira held “top secret” security clearance since 2021, and that he would have “signed a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement” to take on his role in the US Air Force.
Teixeira faces up to 25 years in prison over charges of unauthorized transmission of defence information.
He is also charged with the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
