Pentagon leaker handed lengthy prison term

Jack Teixeira, who illegally published secret documents about the conflict in Ukraine, will spend 15 years behind bars

A Boston court has sentenced former US Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira to 15 years in prison for leaking top secret documents about the conflict in Ukraine.

In March, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act.

While serving as an airman first class of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Teixeira posted photos of multiple classified documents to a private Discord server, including a situation report about the conflict in Ukraine, as well as detailed information about the training of Ukrainian troops by the US and the shipments of Western military equipment to Kiev.

The leaks became public knowledge in April 2023, causing much consternation in both Kiev and Washington. “We were blindsided and furious,” an unnamed US official told the Washington Post at the time.

The documents were published just as Ukraine was gearing up for its 2023 summer counteroffensive, which was launched in June and ultimately failed to win any significant ground.

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Appearing in court on Tuesday, Teixeira expressed remorse over his actions. “I’m sorry for all of the harm that I’ve wrought and that I’ve caused,” he said.

Prosecutors described Teixeira’s crimes as “one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history.” 

“The harm the defendant caused to national security from his disclosures of national defense information is extraordinary,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing in October. They confirmed in court on Tuesday that the damage from the leaks was “historic.”

Massachusetts acting district attorney, Joshua Levy, said the sentence reflected “the gravity of this conduct and the enduring nature of the harm.”