A Massachusetts Air National Guard airman was arrested Thursday in connection with a leak of U.S. government documents.
According to The New York Times, the leak contains 27 pages that reinforce “how deeply American spy agencies have penetrated nearly every aspect of the Russian intelligence apparatus and military command structure.”
“This was a deliberate criminal act, a violation of those guidelines,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday. “I think it's important understand that we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the people who have a need to know when it comes to this kind of information have access to that.”
Jack Douglas Teixeira was taken into custody early Thursday afternoon without incident, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice. He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the department said.
“I want to thank the FBI, Justice Department prosecutors, and our colleagues at the Department of Defense for their diligent work on this case,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This investigation is ongoing. We will share more information at the appropriate time.”
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Ryder also said that the government is working with “interagency partners and the intelligence community,” to better understand the scope of the leak. Furthermore, he said DOD officials continue to conduct a review and to safeguard classified materials.
“Just because classified information may be posted online or elsewhere does not mean it has been declassified by a classification authority,” said Ryder. “We’re just not going to discuss or confirm classified information due to the potential impact on national security, as well as the safety and security of our personnel and those of our allies and our partners.”
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Per The New York Times report, the leaked documents “paint a picture of the Russian government feuding over the count of the dead and wounded in the Ukraine war, with the domestic intelligence agency accusing the military of obscuring the scale of casualties that Russia has suffered.”
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