BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison for leaking highly classified military documents, is scheduled to begin his court-martial on additional charges Monday.
Teixeira pleaded guilty last year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, following his arrest in the most consequential national security breach in years.
In his court-martial, Teixeira faces charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice. At a hearing last year, military prosecutors said a court-martial is appropriate given that obeying orders is the “absolute core” of the military. But Teixeira’s lawyers argued that further action would amount to prosecuting him twice for the same offense.
The court-martial panel is convening at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
The leaks exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Before he was sentenced in November in U.S. District Court in Boston, Teixeira showed little emotion as he stood in court and apologized for his actions. The 22-year-old previously admitted he illegally collected some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets and shared them with other users on the social media platform Discord.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused,” Teixeira said. “I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring.”
Afterward, Teixeira hugged one of his attorneys, looked toward his family and smiled before being led from court. His family left without commenting to reporters, but his mother and others submitted…