This photo illustration created on Apr. 13, 2023, shows Air Force National Guardsman Jack Teixeira reflected in an image of the Pentagon. Teixeira faces six counts of federal espionage charges, including unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. He has pleaded not guilty and is in jail awaiting trial. (Stefani Reynolds, AFP via Getty Images/TNS)
WASHINGTON — Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira acted alone in leaking classified military information but more than a dozen others at the Massachusetts base where he worked were derelict in their duties and failed to respond appropriately to the situation, an Air Force investigation has concluded.
Teixeira, 21, was arrested in April after officials said he had been sharing top-secret information with a group of other users on the social media site Discord. The leaks included intelligence on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“[The] investigation found individuals in Teixeira’s unit failed to take proper action after becoming aware of his intelligence-seeking activities,” the Air Force said Monday about the inspector general report. “However, the investigation did not find evidence that members of Teixeira’s supervisory chain were aware of his alleged unauthorized disclosures.”
Teixeira, a member of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, joined the Air National Guard in 2019 and attained the rank of airman first class and became a Cyber Transport Systems journeyman. The job is similar to an information technology specialist.
“Every airman … is entrusted with the solemn duty to safeguard our nation’s classified defense information. When there is a breach of that sacred trust, for any reason, we will act in accordance with our laws and policies to hold responsible individuals accountable,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.
The monthslong investigation by the Air Force inspector general into the incident said no one aided Teixeria in leaking the classified intelligence, but it identified several service members at the Guard base who failed in some way to take the appropriate actions when they eventually found out what Teixeira was doing.
For example, Col. Sean Riley, commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, was relieved of his command, and Col. Enrique Dovalo, the wing’s surveillance and reconnaissance group commander, received administrative action for “concerns with unit culture and compliance with policies and standards.” Also, commanders from the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and the detachment overseeing administrative support for airmen in the unit were permanently removed, according to the report, which did not name them.
“Air National Guard leaders initiated disciplinary and other administrative actions against 15 individuals … for dereliction in the performance of duties,” Kendall’s office said. “The actions ranged from relieving personnel from their positions, including command positions, to nonjudicial punishment.”
The investigation noted multiple lapses in security that allowed Teixeira repeated access to sensitive compartmented information, or SCI — one of the top levels of classification — without supervision and the report said several violations of security protocols were not properly reported to base authorities.
“Some members mistakenly believed they could report violations to their supervisors (chain of command) and/or other officials, instead of the proper security official, as required in this case,” the report states.
The investigation also found Teixeira continued to access secret information even after he had been ordered to stop.
“As a result, additional available security actions were not taken, and no further inquiry or investigation occurred,” according to the report. “After interviewing higher levels of the supervisory chain, it appears knowledge of these security incidents was not fully disclosed above the squadron level. Based on the preponderance of the evidence gathered during the investigation, three individuals in the unit who understood their duty to report specific information regarding Teixeira’s intelligence-seeking and insider threat indicators to security officials, intentionally failed to do so.”
On at least one occasion, the full details of Teixeira’s behavior weren’t properly reported due to worries that military officials might “overreact.”
“Had any of these members come forward, security officials would likely have facilitated restricting systems/facility access and alerted the appropriate authorities, reducing the length and depth of the unauthorized and unlawful disclosures by several months,” the report said.
Investigators noted several other indirect contributing factors in the leaks, such as confusion at the base about what actions needed to be taken when the violations were found, whether Teixeira had a “need to know” about the classified intelligence, and a lack of supervision and oversight during the night shift, which Teixeira often worked.
As a result of the leaks, Teixeira faces six counts of federal espionage charges including unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. He has pleaded not guilty and is in jail awaiting trial. Each count carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The Justice Department is also investigating the leaks.
It’s not yet known when Teixeira will stand trial, due partly to the large amount of classified material involved in the case. U.S. officials said in July that the documents are held by several agencies. Each must be consulted before the materials can be turned over to defense attorneys as part of the discovery process.
