Air Force prosecutors urged a military hearing officer on Tuesday to recommend court-martial for Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman, for disobeying orders and obstructing justice by leaking national defense secrets. Teixeira, 22, appeared at Hanscom Air Force Base near Boston for the military court hearing.
He had pleaded guilty in March to federal charges for disseminating confidential defense documents on the social media platform Discord, some of which included intelligence about the war in Ukraine, including classified information about troop movements. Teixeira faces over a decade behind bars and is expected to be sentenced by a judge in September.
The fate of the junior airman now rests with the hearing officer, who will consider the evidence presented by military prosecutors and write a recommendation to the convening authority, the commander of the Air Force District of Washington. The commander will ultimately decide whether Teixeira's case will be referred to a military trial, also known as a court-martial. During Tuesday's proceedings, Teixeira, wearing his military uniform, appeared in court unrestrained. As prosecutors presented their evidence, his family members in the audience whispered to one another. His mother, Dawn Dufault, commented that his Air Force blues no longer fit, attributing it to the food he's receiving in custody.
Prosecutors did not call any witnesses to prove probable cause behind the charges but entered a series of exhibits, including memos from Teixeira's superiors urging him to stop accessing unrelated information, photographs of his electronics recovered from a dumpster, and Discord messages allegedly from Teixeira asking another user to delete messages. Capt. Stephanie Adams argued that Teixeira acted with malicious intent to cover his tracks, thereby obstructing justice.
Teixeira's defense team, including Lt. Col. Bradley Poronsky, chose not to call witnesses or enter evidence, arguing that the latest charges should be dismissed due to double jeopardy, as the issues had already been adjudicated in federal court. Maj. Luke Gilhooly, another defense attorney, argued that the government failed to demonstrate Teixeira's intent to evade orders or obstruct justice.
There is no set timeline for when the hearing officer must file his recommendation or for when the convening authority must make a decision.