The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents has been indicted on federal felony charges, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Jack Teixeira faces six counts in the indictment of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.
He was arrested in April on charges of sharing highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other top national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. The stunning breach exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.
“As laid out in the indictment, Jack Teixeira was entrusted by the United States government with access to classified national defense information — including information that reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if shared,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement announcing the indictment.
Each count in the indictment is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is accusing the GOP of playing politics with IRS funding with a new round of budget cuts in a recent aid bill that would slash $14 billion from the agency in order to fund aid to Israel.
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves won reelection on Tuesday, while Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. In Virginia, Democrats swept legislative elections in a blow to GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
A Jewish man in California has died after a confrontation during dueling protests over the Israel-Hamas war, and police said Tuesday they had identified a suspect who called 911 after the altercation.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a case revolving around Second Amendment rights. The Biden administration is appealing a ruling that struck down a federal law that bans a person subject to a domestic violence protective order from possessing a firearm.