BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member who caused an international uproar when he leaked highly classified documents about the war in Ukraine, pleaded guilty to military charges of obstructing justice at his court-martial Thursday and called himself a “proud patriot.”
In a 10-minute address, Teixeira said he was “exposing and correcting the lies that were perpetrated by President Biden and force-fed to the American people” about the war in Ukraine.
“I believe the Department of Justice was politicized against President Trump and myself,” added Teixeira, who said he acted alone when he shared the documents in a geopolitical chatroom on Discord, a social media platform popular with online gamers. He called on Trump and members of his administration to reverse his convictions.
“If I saved one American, Russian or Ukrainian life in this money-grabbing war, my punishment was worth it,” he said.
The judge agreed to the plea deal, which calls for dishonorable discharge and no jail time.
Teixeira was already sentenced last year to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court 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.
Military prosecutors said before the court-martial at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts that charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice were appropriate given that obeying orders is the “absolute core” of the military.
Teixeira’s lawyer, Lt. Col. Bradley Poronsky, argued Monday that the obstructing justice charge should either be dismissed or go unpunished, saying it amounts to double jeopardy because it already factored into Teixeira’s November sentencing.
A plea agreement was accepted by both sides that drops the disobeying orders charge. Teixeira pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge, admitting that he…