Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Leaking Classified Pentagon Documents

The Massachusetts Air National Guard member faces up to 16 years in prison after admitting to one of the most significant U.S. national security breaches in years.

Jack Teixeira, a 22-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member, pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents, including sensitive information about the war in Ukraine.
Teixeira accepted a plea deal that includes a prison sentence between 11 and nearly 17 years, a $50,000 fine, and 36 months of supervised release.
The leaks, which were shared on the social media platform Discord, exposed secret assessments of Russia's war in Ukraine, U.S. military capabilities, and intelligence on allies and adversaries.
Prosecutors agreed not to charge Teixeira with further violations of the Espionage Act in exchange for his guilty plea and cooperation in a debrief with intelligence officials.
The breach prompted the Pentagon to tighten controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira's suspicious behavior.