Washington: A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was detained on Thursday in connection with the leak of highly sensitive military information about the conflict in the Ukraine and other crucial national security issues.
This alarming security lapse has prompted new concerns about America's capacity to protect its most important secrets.
Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old IT specialist who worked as a guard, was taken into custody without a hitch after FBI agents converged on his Massachusetts home.
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According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, he will be charged with violating the Espionage Act by taking or sending classified information about the nation's defence.
Garland did not provide any information regarding a potential motivation, but those who participated in the online private chat group where the documents were made public have described Teixeira as being driven more by bravado than ideology.
The military and Justice Department were still looking into how private information shared in a chat room ended up making its way around the world, even though Thursday's arrest was a turning point in an investigation into the highest-profile intelligence leak in years.
How such a significant breach, one that the Pentagon described as posing a "very serious risk to national security," could have been caused by a young, low-ranking service member will undoubtedly come under scrutiny now that Teixeira has emerged as the prime suspect.
At a very young age, we entrust our members with a great deal of responsibility. Think about a young combat platoon sergeant and the trust we place in them to command troops into battle, said Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the Pentagon.
Teixeira was a "cyber transport systems specialist," or an IT professional in charge of the cabling and hubs for military communications networks. According to a defence official who spoke to the Associated Press under the condition of anonymity so as to discuss sensitive issues, Teixeira would have had a higher level of security clearance in that position because he would also have been in charge of making sure the networks were protected.
Rep. Mike Turner, the Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, made a statement hours after the arrest promising to "examine why this happened, why it went unnoticed for weeks, and how to prevent future leaks."
Teixeira, who was detained by heavily armed tactical agents while sporting shorts and a T-shirt, is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Massachusetts on Friday. He might also be prosecuted in a military court.
A phone message left at a number thought to be his mother's was not returned, so it was unclear right away if he had a lawyer who could speak for him.
Since the leaks were first reported last week, the Biden administration has hurried to contain any potential diplomatic and military repercussions, assuring allies and determining the extent of the damage. Officials from the Pentagon have expressed concern over the breach.
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The revelations' long-term effects were downplayed by President Joe Biden, who earlier on Thursday told reporters in Ireland that "there's nothing contemporaneous that I'm aware of that is of great consequence."
The classified documents, which have not all been independently verified by US officials, range from briefing slides outlining Ukrainian military positions to evaluations of international support for Ukraine and other delicate subjects, such as the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The exact number of documents that were leaked is unknown. About 50 documents have been viewed by the Associated Press, but some estimates place the total at hundreds.
The leak is thought to have begun on a social media site called Discord, which is well-liked by online gamers and where Teixeira is known to have posted for years about guns, video games, and his favourite memes—as well as, according to people who have chatted with him, closely-guarded US secrets.
Minutes before federal officials announced Teixeira was a person of interest in the investigation, the investigative website Bellingcat and The New York Times made the first public identification of him. They reported finding Teixeira-related tracking profiles on other, more obscure websites.
The leaker was referred to as "the O.G." in earlier Associated Press stories by a user of the online chat group. The person cited concerns for his personal safety as the reason he wouldn't give his name to the AP.
The chat room, dubbed Thug Shaker Central, attracted about two dozen enthusiasts who discussed their preferred types of firearms as well as jokes and memes, some of which were racist. The group also engaged in an ongoing conversation about wars during which the Russian invasion of Ukraine was brought up.
The person said that "the O.G." would post material he claimed was classified for months, first typing it out with his own annotations before switching to posting pictures of folded-up papers a few months ago because he felt his writings weren't being taken seriously.
According to Discord, it works with law enforcement. In a statement following the arrest, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin promised that the Pentagon would review its "intelligence access, accountability, and control procedures" in an effort to stop similar leaks in the future.
Only a few methods could have been used to access the stolen classified data. The information is typically distributed electronically in classified briefings with slides like those that were uploaded to Discord.
that can be accomplished using either tablets that are distributed for briefings and collected later, or secure computer terminals to which users gain access based on their credentials.
If the slides must be printed out instead, they can only be delivered to secured printers that can process classified documents and that maintain a digital record of each person who requests a printout.
When handling classified information, those with security clearances rely heavily on their training and the confidence that they will keep the information secure. According to your position when you join the military, you might need a security clearance, Ryder said. "And you'll go through the proper vetting if you work in the intelligence community and need a security clearance."
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Each service member who receives a clearance, according to Ryder, signs a non-disclosure agreement and receives training on the strict rules the military has for handling classified information. The disclosures were "a deliberate criminal act, a violation of those guidelines."