Pentagon leak suspect was warned multiple times about mishandling of classified information

[ificandream]

Source: Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Superiors of the Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking highly classified military documents had raised concerns internally on multiple occasions about his handling or viewing of classified information, according to a court filing Wednesday.

Justice Department lawyers made the disclosure in a court papers urging a magistrate judge to keep Jack Teixeira behind bars while he awaits trial in the case stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years. The judge is expected to hear more arguments Friday on prosecutors’ detention request and issue a ruling.

Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified documents about top national security issues in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He has not yet entered a plea.

Prosecutors told the judge in their filing that Teixeira continued leaking documents even after he was admonished by superiors on two separate occasions last year over “concerning actions” he took related to classified information.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/jack-teixeira-national-guard-massachusetts-leaked-documents-788b28daf6504eaac02df5844d7a2c01

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You mean they knew and did nothing?

[Biophilic]

1. "They knew and did nothing?" Pretty damning information about his superiors.

[Kennah]

2. If only there'd been some indication of wrongdoing

[RockRaven]

3. Oh, did they "admonish" him? Well that was super effective, wasn't it?

[Ray Bruns]

4. Bastards clearance should have been stripped from him the first time.

[malthaussen]

5. Two strikes, not three.

It's likely that there is an informal three-strikes policy on stuff like this, although maybe a two-strikes policy would make more sense for sensitive materials.

-- Mal

[lapfog_1]

6. As a civilian contractor for some or other agency

at one point in my life... I was a member of the community.

I can tell you I had a clearance. I cannot tell you (or anyone) where I worked, or what clearance level I was given. Doesn't matter.

I was told what the consequences would be if I mishandled classified material.

Over and over again.

They MIGHT have simply admonished me the first time, given the specific nature of the classified material and the "mishandling" that happened.

I would be out of a job and potentially facing a criminal proceeding and potential lengthy jail sentence if it happened more than once. Even on the first occurrence I would like be stripped of my security clearance and fired from my job.

This was all spelled out to me before I was allowed to even enter the facility where I would do my job.

The background check was thorough... they interviewed my next door neighbor from when I was maybe 4 years old (she used to make cookies for me)... my grade school, middle school, high school and university friends and teachers, they checked every address where I lived, interviewed my family, my cousins, my aunts and uncles... everyone from my life. ex-girlfriends, etc.

two FBI agents (different agents in different cities) spent months investigating me. I was polygraphed multiple times. I even told them about my marijuana use in college (they didn't care about whether or not I had ever tried it, only if I tried to conceal it). Why two agents... because it is ALWAYS two.

I was told that it cost nearly $30,000 (in mid 1980s) to do all this.

To read about this now makes my blood boil. WT actual F. How did they let this low ranked airman get his paws on classified material, mishandle it... and get a "warning" about it????

I just don't understand.

To this very day... I have a work phone and a personal phone, a work laptop and a personal laptop... never ever do I get emails at work that should be personal or vice versa. I have done this since before there were cell phones and laptops. Yes it is a pain. But the rules were very clear. And I follow them still even though I haven't done any work in the classified arena for over a decade. It became a habit.

If I had been caught taking a "CD" (now a thumb drive) in or out of the "facility" I would have been arrested on the spot. I was searched every day I went in to work... on the way in and on the way out.

This is just beyond belief.

[inwiththenew]

7. This whole episode doesn't really inspire confidence in our intelligence safeguards

As more comes out on this story. This guy had a bunch of red flags that either were ignored or not noticed. He made little effort to conceal what he was doing as is evidenced in the article about how he had multiple warnings about his handling and viewing of that material. Makes you wonder how many more are out there that are less stupid and conspicuous.

[dlk]

8. Was there ever a consequence for mishandling classified information?

Looks like Teixeira was given a pass.