Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty In Court Martial Deal

Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira went through with a plea deal at a Thursday court martial, according to The Associated Press.

Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, pleaded guilty to military obstructing justice charges, according to the AP, with a lack of jail time and dishonorable discharge being involved in his plea agreement. A judge accepted the deal.

Teixeira, who leaked classified information about U.S. war strategy in Ukraine on the social platform Discord, said Thursday that he had been “exposing and correcting the lies that were perpetrated by President Biden and force-fed to the American people” on the Russia-Ukraine war.

“I believe the Department of Justice was politicized against President Trump and myself,” Teixeira said, according to the AP.

Late last year, a U.S. District Court judge sentenced Teixeira to 15 years in prison. Teixeira had also pleaded guilty last March to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information following his posting of more than 100 classified documents covering topics including Ukraine and intelligence gathered via spying on allies.

Prosecutors for the military had pushed for the suitability of obstructing justice and disobeying orders charges, saying the military’s “absolute core” is obeying orders. Teixeira's lawyer, Lt. Col. Bradley Poronsky, pushed for the charge of obstructing justice to be dismissed or result in no punishment on Monday, AP reported.

Both sides eventually came to a plea agreement in which the disobeying orders charge was dropped, per the AP. 

The Hill has reached out to the Air Force for comment.