Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who has been arrested under the Espionage Act for leaking classified intelligence, may have been doing so for much longer and to a much wider audience than previously known, according to a report.

The New York Times reported on Friday that “A Discord user matching the profile of Jack Teixeira distributed intelligence to a larger chat group, days after the beginning of the Ukraine war.”

There were approximately 600 members in that group, according to the report. The second chat room was publicly listed on a YouTube channel and was easily accessed in seconds by the New York Times.

“A chain of digital evidence collected by The Times ties the posts containing the sensitive information to Airman Teixeira. The posts were made under a user name that The Times has previously connected to Airman Teixeira. The person leaking the information said he worked at a U.S. Air Force intelligence unit. Details in videos and photographs he posted matched images posted by family members inside the Teixeira home in North Dighton, Mass. Fellow Discord members sent the user birthday wishes on Dec. 21, the same date Airman Teixeira’s sister wished him a happy birthday on Facebook. And he posted a photograph of an antique German rifle for which The Times found an online receipt in Airman Teixeira’s name,” the outlet reported.

The first leak of classified data from the Pentagon occurred 48 hours after the Russian invasion of Ukraine – NYT

US Air National Guard soldier Jack Teixeira, accused of leaking classified documents, published classified information much earlier and to a much larger audience… pic.twitter.com/oOS4DrUEYT

— Lew Anno Suport #Ukraine 24/2-22 (@anno1540) April 22, 2023

The report covers details concerning Russian and Ukrainian casualty numbers, the activities of Moscow’s spy agencies, and includes updates on aid being provided to Kyiv.

The person posting the information, who is believed to be Teixeira, claimed that he was divulging information from the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies.

“Saw a pentagon report saying that 1/3rd of the force is being used to invade,” the user posted in one Discord message. That was allegedly less than 48 hours after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the New York Times.

“I have a little more than open source info. Perks of being in a USAF intel unit,” the user wrote in another post.

On March 27, 2022, a post revealed that Russia was planning on removing its forces stationed near Kyiv.

“Some ‘big’ news,” the person announced. “There may be a planned withdrawal of the troops west of Kiev, as in all of them.”

Two days after that information was put on Discord, Russian officials announced they were pulling troops away from the Ukrainian capital.

“At one point he offered to share information privately with members of the group living outside the United States. “DM me and I can tell you what I have,” he wrote.”

— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) April 22, 2023

Originally, it was believed that the 21-year-old guardsman had shared classified documents with a much smaller Discord group of about 50 members, known as Thug Shaker Central. Those members reportedly distributed the documents to other groups and websites over time.

Despite the New York Times running with the story, it is unclear if authorities are cognizant of the classified documents posted on the larger Discord server. Although, it would be hard to believe they don’t know about it at this point. The user in question only stopped posting to the larger group last month.

Teixeira was taken into custody on April 13 at his mother’s home in Massachusetts after The New York Times broke the story that he had leaked classified intel.

It is hard to fathom why such a young recruit who had been in the military less than four years was tasked as a cyber transport systems journeyman working on and protecting the infrastructure behind highly sensitive communication channels. He was given the highest level of security clearance which in turn gave him access to sensitive intelligence files. Many believe he could not have done so by himself and that there are large holes in the story surrounding the leaks.

Teixeira “also claimed to have access to intelligence from U.S. partners. “I usually work with GCHQ people when I’m looking at foreign countries,” he told the chat group in September 2022…” https://t.co/9Mbyg4O6Zi

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) April 22, 2023

The Discord leaks are being described as the biggest national security breach in at least 10 years. It should not have happened after massive leaks by those such as Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a 45-day review of Pentagon document security practices earlier this week, which is sort of like barring the door to the barn after the horses have run off. It could and should result in stricter measures for receiving security clearances.

The Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing has been stripped of its mission by the Air Force. An investigation into the security breach by Teixeira is now being conducted.

“The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currently performing its assigned intelligence mission,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told the New York Post on Wednesday in a statement.

 

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