April 13, 2023 - Arrest made in connection with leaked US classified documents

The Pentagon warned service members not to access sensitive documents from unclassified websites, underscoring the seriousness of handling classified documents.

The memo, from Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, is intended as a reminder about the policies and procedures around the handling of classified documents, cautioning service members “not to discuss classified information with any person not authorized to receive such information.”

It also warns service members not to download documents with classified markings from unclassified websites, since they may be associated with foreign adversaries or contain malicious code that could pose a cyber threat to defense department information systems. 

The memo was sent a day before the arrest of 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, in connection with the leaking of classified documents.

The memo does not refer to a service member, instead only referencing “recent reporting on the unauthorized disclosure of what appear to be classified DoD and Intelligence Community documents.”

The memo also warns service members not to speak to the media or to Congressional members or staff about classified documents, directing them to public affairs or to the Office of Legislative Affairs, respectively.

The 21-year-old Massachusetts man arrested by the FBI Thursday in connection with the leaking of a trove of classified US government documents had a fascination with the military, guns and war, several former high school classmates told CNN.

Jack Teixeira would sometimes wear camouflage to school, carried a “dictionary-sized book on guns” and behaved in a way that made some students uneasy.

John Powell, who also attended middle school and high school with Teixeira, said he recalled him as a pleasant and quiet kid who was sometimes picked on. “He didn’t have many friends,” Powell said.

Teixeira grew up in the suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island, according to public records. He attended Dighton-Rehoboth High School in Massachusetts where he graduated in 2020, according to the superintendent of the regional school district. 

Powell recalled Teixeira occasionally toting around a textbook on military vehicles — tanks, planes and submarines — and having a fascination with anything “military-related” from an early age.

Other students, who asked not to be identified, said they detected a more menacing vibe from Texeira, who some recalled making comments they perceived as racist or mumbling derogatory things about people under his breath.

One student recalled him showing up for school wearing a shirt with an AR-15 on it the day after the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017.

Teixeira didn’t behave in a manner that rose to the level where “people felt the need to report him,” another former classmate said, but “he made me nervous.”

The same student said she took his fascination with the military as a form of American nationalism and was therefore surprised by the allegations against him. 

Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is expected to make his initial appearance in US District Court in Boston on Friday.

The alleged leak of classified documents by a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman points to an endemic problem in Washington's security apparatus, said former Attorney General William Barr on Thursday.

Speaking with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Barr said the leak was "stunning, and it points to a problem that's endemic in our national security structure in Washington, DC."

Barr noted that technology is playing a role in placing too many eyes on sensitive documents. "But hopefully this will be a wake-up call," he added.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was taken into custody by federal agents and accused of “alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.”

While there is currently no indication that Teixeira allegedly leaked classified documents at the behest or under the control of a foreign power, investigations into major American spy cases involving suspects with varying motivations have uncovered serious inadequacies in the government’s ability to guard itself against penetration.

In the case of convicted CIA spy Aldrich Ames, congressional investigators slammed the agency for its ability to deal with Ames’ suitability problems, including “drunkenness, disregard for security regulations, and sloppiness towards administrative requirements.”

After Robert Hanssen’s treachery was exposed, investigators learned he had full access to the FBI and State Department’s computer systems and would spend hours trawling undetected for classified information. In his 25 years with the bureau, with access to highly sensitive sources and methods about US intelligence efforts targeting the Soviet Union and Russia, Hanssen had never been subjected to a polygraph examination.

After the Ames and Hanssen cases, the CIA and FBI moved to strengthen its so-called insider threat programs aimed at safeguarding the nation’s secrets by closely scrutinizing the finances and travel of personnel with access to classified information and increasing the use of polygraphs to routinely assess employees for continued allegiance and suitability.

While intelligence agencies like the FBI and CIA have increased precautions, the Defense Department, which employs the bulk of America’s intelligence community employees, remains extremely vulnerable, and will almost certainly be taken to task by oversight investigators following the latest disclosures.

Although much is still not publicly known about Teixeira’s level of clearance and his US government background investigation, one major issue for the Defense Department pertains to how often and robustly counterintelligence officials scrutinize employees with access to information on an ongoing basis.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is directing a review of intelligence access following the arrest of an Air National Guardsman who allegedly leaked classified intelligence online. 

 The review will be conducted by the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, Austin said. It will also examine "accountability and control procedures within the Department to inform our efforts to prevent this kind of incident from happening again.” 

This review is part of the broader internal probe the Defense Department is conducting of its practices and the potential damage caused by the leak, which CNN has previously reported is being led by Milancy Harris, the deputy under secretary of defense for intelligence and security. 

The leaked documents posted to social media included detailed intelligence assessments of allies and adversaries alike, including on the state of the war in Ukraine and the challenges Kyiv and Moscow face as the war appears stuck in a stalemate.

Austin commended the Department of Justice and FBI for their arrest of Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Guardsman assigned to the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Teixeira allegedly leaked classified intelligence onto a Discord server in recent months. 

“The Department of Defense, in close partnership with the Intelligence Community and our interagency partners, will continue to review the national security implications of this unauthorized disclosure,” Austin said.

Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested in Massachusetts on Thursday in connection to a leak online of classified US intelligence.

The leaked documents appeared last month on the social media platform Discord, according to screenshots of the posts reviewed by CNN. Teixeira, 21, is believed to be the leader of a Discord chat group where the documents were posted, multiple US officials told CNN.

The documents included detailed intelligence assessments of allies and adversaries alike, including the state of the war in Ukraine.

The Pentagon has begun to limit who across the government receives its highly classified daily intelligence briefs following the leak.

The arrest: The suspect was under surveillance for at least a couple of days prior to his arrest, according to a US government source familiar with the case. He was expected to go to work Thursday where the FBI intended to take him into custody under more controlled circumstances, according to the source.

When the suspect did not go to work, agents who were already positioned outside his mother’s house, waited for the suspect to come out, the source said. This search and arrest effort accelerated when reporters for The New York Times knocked on the house door and spoke to people inside. 

Here's what else we know about the suspect:

Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard arrested in connection with leaking classified documents, was recently promoted to Airman 1st Class, according to a Facebook post by the 102nd Intelligence Wing.

Teixeira grew up in the suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island, according to public records. He attended Dighton-Rehoboth High School where he graduated in 2020, the superintendent of the regional school district said.

He entered the Air National Guard on Sept 26, 2019, according to the Defense Department.

His mother runs a flower business and often lauded Teixeira’s military service on her company’s Instagram account.

The suspect accused of leaking classified documents was under surveillance for at least a couple of days prior to his arrest by the FBI on Thursday, according to a US government source familiar with the case.

The 21-year-old, who is a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was expected to go to work Thursday where the FBI intended to take him into custody under more controlled circumstances, according to the source.

When the suspect did not go to work, agents who were already positioned outside his mother’s house, waited for the suspect to come out, the source said. This search and arrest effort accelerated when reporters for The New York Times knocked on the house door and spoke to people inside. 

The FBI is awaiting a search warrant for the mother’s residence as well as the father’s residence because the suspect spent time living at both locations, this source said.

Authorities expect to find numerous weapons in their search, based on photos posted on social media. The likely presence of weapons was one of the driving reasons the FBI did not want to make the arrest by raiding the house. Instead, agents waited for an opportunity to get him outside the house. 

Members of the House Intelligence Committee have been in touch about hosting hearings to find out how the 21-year-old National Guard member arrested Thursday for allegedly leaking classified US government documents was able to obtain the sensitive material, Chairman Mike Turner said Thursday.

"We need to have hearings as to, you know, what is the scope of documents, especially when you have something as volatile as a battlefield of Ukraine," Turner told CNN's Jake Tapper.

Jack Teixeira, the suspect, was described by The Washington Post as a lonely young man and gun enthusiast who was part of a chatroom of about two dozen people on Discord – a social media platform popular with video gamers – where members shared a love of guns and military gear.

Turner, who said he visited Kyiv recently, added that the upcoming Ukraine offensive was highly sensitive and the information leaked shouldn't be available to someone "trying to show it to their friends to impress them."