Making An Espionage Impression

"It is fairly commonplace for individuals of his age to have access to classified information,"

"Often people at his level are supporting senior leaders, and he might have a 'need to know' if he was prepping senior leaders or putting together briefing books," 

"It does raise questions about how we are training individuals on how to handle classified information. It's exposing gaps in the system that will be looked at … but there's also a level of trust that you place in these individuals, that they are there for the right reasons."

Alexandria Seymour, associate fellow, Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security think tank

"It's part of this drive to get as much information as possible for analysts to use."

"And that drive means that you are potentially opening up access to information that could be leaked."

"To have greater restrictions on information means more of a move towards a traditional type of strict need-to-know principles."

Dan Lomas, senior lecturer in intelligence and security studies, Brunel University

Suspected classified document leaker and U.S National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira, is taken into custody by FBI agents in North Dighton, Mass., April 13, 2023.  WCVB

"[I commend] the rapid action taken by law enforcement to investigate and respond to the recent dissemination of classified U.S. government documents."

"While we are still determining the validity of those documents, I have directed our military and intelligence community to take steps to further secure and limit distribution of sensitive information, and our national security team is closely coordinating with our partners and allies." 

U.S. President Joe Biden

This is the fourth time in recent decades that American high-security secret files have been accessed by trusted personnel with security credentials to have accessed files and documents not to be seen outside the confines of American intelligence, but which have been released to the scrutiny of the public at large at home and internationally. In most of these revelatory leaks those releasing secret files did so as a matter of personal principle in the belief that the public should be aware of what was happening behind the scenes. In this latest case, the release appears to have been effected by an emotionally immature man who sought attention and admiration from his peers.

The suspect in this latest release of secret American intelligence files, 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, comes from a military family, himself a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guards, now accused of having released to the public highly classified military documents. He was arrested and a day later appeared before a court to face charges under the Espionage Act, of having, though unauthorized, removed and retained classified and national defence information. Seemingly motivated by the irresistible urge to prove he had access to such documents.

The thoughtless act of a narcissist. Someone who wanted to be the centre of attention. And now he is up front and centre of attention. Perhaps not quite in the way he would have wished to be. He appeared to have begun his posting of document images, annoyed that other users of the clandestine social gamers' group he was part of failed to take his actions seriously in that they did not recognize the enormity of his transgression of the trust placed in him by his upgraded security assessment that enabled him access to the highly sensitive documents.

He had initially taken to typing out the documents he would post, but ended up with the feeling they weren't having the deeply admiring impression he meant them to. Which was when he reverted to photographing the documents themselves and posting those. And this went on for months; highly sensitive, secret military documents available for anyone to scrutinize in the international community. The Pentagon unaware of the situation until an investigation was undertaken and published by The New York Times.

 

Which sparked a weeklong criminal investigation into the public disclosure of government records, a breach exposing sensitive information on many issues, most notably, the war in Ukraine to the world at large. A capricious emotional pique upturning the nation's security and the trust of its international security partners. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennesy ordered Teixeira  to be held until a following hearing, when he appeared in court Friday for a brief proceeding. He is innocent until proven guilty, and is as yet only a 'suspect', but his future does not look bright.

A Defence Department official advised that as an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks, the Guardsman now in prison would have held a high level of security clearance. The Pentagon is set to conduct a review of its "intelligence access, accountability and control procedures" with a view to preventing a similar such leak from re-occurring. It is believed by investigators that Teixeira led a private online chat group on the Discord channel platform. 

This is a social media platform people who play online games tend to gravitate to. The FBI took possession of billing records from Discord which helped investigators to identify Teixeira as a suspect. An FBI affidavit disclosed that an indioidual familiar with Teixerra's online posts informed investigators of a username linked to Teixeira posting classified information beginning in December. Teixera took home with him documents to photograph and post once he "had become concerned that he may be discovered making the transcriptions of text in the workplace".

His actions remained undetected until April 6, when the Pentagon was alerted by the first published story of the documents breach. In their investigation it was discovered that Teixeira had searched online for the word "leak" in an effort to find what his leaked documents were leading to. Which gave the FBI another clue regarding his involvement. The group of gamers linked to Teixeira held certain issues in common regard: gaming enthusiasts, devout Christians, gun-lovers, racism and antisemitism.

Jack Douglas Teixeira, a U.S. Air Force National Guard airman accused of leaking highly classified military intelligence records online, makes his initial appearance before a federal judge in Boston, on April 14, 2023, in a courtroom sketch.

Margaret Small/Reuters