Alright, here’s the update on the ‘Pentagon leaker’.
Air Force prosecutors are pushing for Jack Teixeira, 22, an Air National Guardsman, to face a court-martial.
The charges?
“Disobeying orders and obstructing justice after leaking national defense secrets.”
He’d already pleaded guilty in March to leaking info, that included classified intel on the war in Ukraine and troop movements.
But it seems the Air Force might be seeking an excessive or vengeful form of justice, as stated by the Teixeira’s attorney.
A 21-year old MA Air National Guardsman is the leaker of the Pentagon’s classified documents.
It’s so easy to get National Security Intel. Imagine what our adversaries have.
Funny how fast they found THIS leaker, but impossible to find the DC pipe-bomber from over 2 yrs ago! pic.twitter.com/CDWIvKKO7H
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) April 13, 2023
Air Force prosecutors ask for new charges for Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira https://t.co/dZYqXzc4RZ
— ABC11 EyewitnessNews (@ABC11_WTVD) May 15, 2024
ABC News reports:
Air Force prosecutors on Tuesday asked a military hearing officer to recommend that Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman, be court-martialed for disobeying orders and obstructing justice after leaking national defense secrets.
Teixeira, 22, who appeared at Hanscom Air Force Base, about 20 miles outside of Boston, for the military court hearing, pleaded guilty to federal charges in March for disseminating confidential defense documents on the social media platform, Discord. Some of those documents included intelligence about the war in Ukraine, including classified information about troop movements.
Teixeira is facing more than a decade behind bars and is expected to be sentenced by a judge in September.
The fate of the junior airman is now in the hands of the hearing officer, who will consider the evidence presented on Tuesday by military prosecutors and will write a recommendation to the convening authority — in this case the commander of the Air Force District of Washington. It will ultimately be up to the commander to decide whether Teixeira’s case will be referred to a military trial, also known as a court martial.
On Tuesday, Teixeira entered the courtroom unrestrained and in his military uniform. As prosecutors presented their evidence, his family members in the audience whispered to one another. His mother, Dawn Dufault, said it appeared as if his Air Force blues no longer fit. “It’s all the junk they’re feeding him in there,” she said.
Maj. Luke Gilhooly, an attorney for Teixeira argued that the charges facing the disgraced airman had already been adjudicated in federal court — and that the latest prosecution amounts to the Air Force wanting “to get its own pound of flesh.”
The defense argued that even despite “double jeopardy” the government failed to show that Teixeira intended to evade orders or obstruct justice.
ChatGpt defines the phrase “to get its own pound of flesh”:
This means to demand exact and severe retribution or punishment, often in a way that is perceived as harsh or vindictive. It originates from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” where a character demands a literal pound of flesh as part of a legal agreement, symbolizing a ruthless insistence on exacting what is owed, regardless of the consequences.
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Here’s a recap on the Pentagon leaker:
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