Suspensions were imposed this week by the U.S. Air Force on the leaders of the unit employing a young guardsman who allegedly leaked a trove of top-secret documents.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, a 21-year-old Air National guardsman named Jack Teixeira was arrested in mid-April on charges of unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information under the Espionage Act.
He was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod.
Teixeira allegedly shared highly classified military documents in a Discord chat server with his friends.
While Teixeira’s case is being processed by the federal court system, many have been left wondering how the young man had such high-security clearance despite a number of red flags that would have appeared during the preliminary and ongoing vetting process.
Documents submitted to the court in relation to Teixeira’s case, for instance, mention his suspension during high school for “remarks about weapons, including Molotov cocktails, guns at the school, and racial threats,” per CNN.
Ann Stefanek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force, told the Washington Examiner on April 26 that two leaders of Teixeira’s unit had been suspended pending an investigation into the leak. This included both the operational commander of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and the detachment commander who oversaw administrative support.
“Also, the Department of Air Force has temporarily removed these individuals’ access to classified systems and information,” Stefanek added, per the Washington Examiner.
The assigned intelligence mission of the 102nd Intelligence Wing was also suspended earlier this month.
More disciplinary action is likely to follow in the coming weeks as the Air Force inspector general continues its probe of Teixeira’s unit.
Speaking before the Senate’s Appropriations Committee on April 18, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall explained that alongside ensuring that the ongoing criminal investigation into the leak is unimpeded, security protocols have tightened.
“We’re turning on a complete review of our policies themselves within the staff, to make sure our policies are adequate. And that will be illuminated by what we learn about what happened in this incident,” Kendall said, per a Senate news release.
On April 13, a news release from the office of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin similarly announced a probe into the security protocols and clearance process of the department.
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie has been tasked with overseeing this review and has until June 1 to present his proposals to the secretary, per the Washington Examiner.
Meanwhile, federal officials are still confronted with the aftermath of this leak of U.S. intelligence.
As The Dallas Express reported, the documents have suggested that the U.S. engages in surveillance activities of its allies and adversaries alike.
For instance, one top-secret document suggested that the Egyptian president secretly planned to supply arms to Russia. Egypt receives $1.3 billion in military aid each year from the U.S.
The leak has also raised questions about recent happenings, such as the Chinese spy balloons episode earlier this year.
The documents appearing online suggest that U.S. military intelligence officials knew about the five spy balloons and named them after historic American criminals, per The Dallas Express.
