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. 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 plea agreement calls for dishonorable discharge and no jail time. The judge approved the plea agreement, but had not addressed his sentencing yet, which was expected to occur later Thursday afternoon.
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 used a hammer to destroy a cellphone, a computer hard drive and an iPad after seeing some news reports of the leaked documents. He also admitted to telling his friend to destroy messages exchanged on a communication app.
“I was scared about a potential law enforcement investigation into me and my friends,” he said in court Thursday.
As the sentencing phase began, Teixeira’s parents said he took an early interest in the military as a child. His father, also named Jack Teixeira, described him as “a good kid, energetic, intelligent, and quirky.”
When his son decided to join the military, “I was excited about it,” the elder Teixeira said. ”It was a good option for Jack.” He said it gave him direction and the chance to see the world.
“He made a mistake,” his mother, Dawn Dufault, said. “Everyone makes mistakes. He’s my son, I love him. He deserves a second chance.”
The leaks exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. The leaked documents also revealed assessments of the defense capabilities of Taiwan and internal arguments in Britain, Egypt, Israel, South Korea and Japan. Teixeira also admitted to posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Teixeira worked as an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. His lawyers described Teixeira as an autistic, isolated individual who spent most of his time online, especially with his Discord community, and never meant to harm the United States.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.