US prosecutors have alleged in court documents that suspected Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira was warned at least twice by his superiors in the Air Force about his handling of classified documents.
The court documents, which were released to the public on Wednesday, argue for Teixeira’s continued detention while he awaits trial. Teixeria has not submitted a formal plea, and his defense team has requested he be allowed to reside at his father’s residence until his trial.
“In particular, the Defendant’s disclosures (and associated boasting) continued even after being admonished by his superiors on two separate occasions,” prosecutors wrote in the court documents. “Once in September 2022 and once in October 2022,” due to “concerning actions that the Defendant took related to classified information.”
To support their assertion, prosecutors submitted three Air Force memorandums documenting Teixeira’s handling of classified documents.
The third document says that a superior in Teixeira’s unit observed him looking at intelligence not related to his primary job duties. He was not reprimanded for that incident but other superiors were informed about it.
Teixeira’s unit has stopped performing its intelligence mission and the Air Force has temporarily suspended two of the unit’s commanders, pending an investigation into the leaked documents.
In the Discord chat where the documents were leaked, a user alleged to be Teixeira initially gave summaries of classified material that he wrote out. After encountering skepticism from the other members of the chat, the user began posting full documents.
Prosecutors argue the Air Force memorandums show Teixeira’s “willful disregard” for his duty to protect classified information. The defense team has argued Teixeira never meant to “disrupt the geopolitical affairs of the United States,” and that he never intended for the documents to be spread outside of the Discord chat where he shared them.
A hearing on Teixeira’s continued detention is scheduled for Friday.