Jack Teixeira is in a heap of trouble. He will likely be charged under the Espionage Act for violating his top secret clearance and leaking documents to people including foreign nationals who have an interest in harming our country. Texeira, who is 21 years old, comes from a military family. He was working in IT for the Massachusetts National Guard. His job gave him access to classified documents. He shared hundreds of them with online groups. He was particularly active on Discord in a group of young men, mostly in their teens and early 20s, who were excited about war games which they played online. NPR (and other news agencies) found that many users of the Discord platform where Teixeira leaked information were into “Orthodox Catholicism, guns, as well as racist, vile memes”. Jack apparently wanted to show off that he had access to the real deal, real war intelligence.
What Jack did by leaking these highly classified documents exposed US intelligence information including information our country has learned through our eavesdropping and confidential sources about such things as the war in Ukraine, Chinese readiness to invade Taiwan and Chinese activities to provide weapons to Russia for the Ukraine war. He copied and then posted materials to the website group where he had a leadership role starting back in January of this year. The leaked documents were not noticed by people in our government for many weeks because checking social media of people employed by our government is thought to be a First Amendment intrusion. (That needs to change!) But when these documents were shared to other sites by group members, reporters got wind of the leak. After that, these documents got into the hands of pretty much anyone who wanted to see them.
This is bad for our intelligence agencies, and has possibly exposed our sources and methods to enemies including countries that want to harm and damage our democracy such as Russia. What Jack did exposes our confidential informants to danger and it reduces our ability to enlist future confidential informants to help us learn what is happening in other countries, which keeps all of us safer. Knowledge is power. Intelligence keeps us safer. That’s why it is such a big deal when confidential information is leaked.
What Jack Teixeira did will probably get him charged as a traitor under the Espionage Act. Even if he was just doing this to show off, he violated the trust he gained with his top secret clearance. He knew better. Everyone with a clearance is instructed about the importance of that designation and the limits on what they can share with others.
WHAT SIDE IS MTG ON ANYHOW?
So what happened next is disturbing. Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke out in support of Jack Teixeira.
Greene identified Teixeira as “white, male, christian, and antiwar” and said this makes him “an enemy to the Biden regime.”
The Georgia lawmaker then implied that President Joe Biden’s administration was “the real enemy” for “waging war in Ukraine . . . against nuclear Russia without war powers.”
Then Lindsey Graham had something to say about MTG after her un-American tweet.
Graham said on ABC News’ “This Week”: “If you’re a member of the military intelligence community and you disagree with American policy and you think you’re going to be OK when it comes to leaking classified information, you’re going to go to jail.” “It’s one of the most irresponsible statements she could make,” he added.
Just remember what Graham has said because it is going to come back to haunt those in the Republican Party who are acting like a gang protecting their mob boss, Donald Trump. Why? Because Trump is very likely guilty of the same thing that Jack Teixeira is guilty of.
WHY DOES IT MATTER THAT TRUMP SHOWED PEOPLE TOP SECRET MAPS?
Federal investigators (on Jack Smiths’ team) are asking witnesses whether former President Donald J. Trump showed off to aides and visitors a map he took with him when he left office that contains sensitive intelligence information, four people with knowledge of the matter said.
The map has been just one focus of the broad Justice Department investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents after he departed the White House. (NYT)
Trump was showing off his access to that top secret map just like Jack Teixeira did. Like the 21 year old, Trump got a big kick out of his access to highly classified documents and he relished showing them to people who were at Mar-a-Lago or traveling with him on his airplane. We know this based on the statements made by people who have been brought in to testify in Jack Smith’s DOJ investigation into Trump’s obstruction of justice– hoarding and concealing documents at Mar-a-Lago.
There may be a particularly important reason for Jack Smith’s team to focus on a map with sensitive information. The Espionage Act is very clear and specific when it comes to top secret maps relating to national defense that are shown to people who are not entitled to see them.
WHAT THE ESPIONAGE ACT SAYS:
18 USC 789 e the United States Espionage Act
(e)
Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
SO, WHY IS MTG DEFENDING A TRAITOR?
It sure looks like Jack Smith is assessing whether Trump violated the Espionage Act. If Jack Teixeira is charged under the Espionage Act as a traitor because he was showing off his access to classified documents to his band of online gamer pals to feel more important, then Trump should be charged under the Espionage Act for doing the same thing at Mar-a-Lago or anywhere else he was showing off his access to cool intel to make himself feel more important.
MTG is defending Teixeira because she can see what’s coming for Trump.
Just remember what Lindsey Graham said about this when Trump is indicted: “when it comes to leaking classified information you’re going to jail.”
