Prosecutors said Jack Teixeira “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history.”
Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who prosecutors said “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history”, is set to be sentenced Tuesday in Boston federal court.
He pleaded guilty in March to six counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to impose the maximum prison sentence of 200 months — more than 16 years — in prison.
“The harm the defendant caused to the national security from his disclosures of national defense information is extraordinary”, prosecutors said in a memorandum filed ahead of the sentencing hearing. “By posting intelligence products on the social media platform Discord to feed his own ego and impress his anonymous friends, Teixeira caused exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States. The scope of his betrayal is breathtaking.”
The defense sought the minimum sentence, citing Teixeira’s autism and ADHD. They also argued he did not intend to harm the country, only to educate his online friends about world events.
“Jack is still essentially a child — at the very least, a ‘youthful offender’ — who has his whole life in front of him”, defense attorneys Michael Bachrach and Brandan Kelley stated in a memorandum presented to the judge ahead of sentencing.
