US Politics

US intelligence chiefs ‘furious’ over latest leak

Jack Teixeira, who is charged with releasing the top-secret documents, is being hailed as a hero by some elements on the US far right

National guardsman Jack Teixeira is suspected of being behind a major leak of sensitive US government secrets. Picture: Getty

Last Friday morning, Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, appeared in a Boston courtroom. The baby-faced IT administrator is accused of leaking a massive amount of classified military intelligence over a period of almost a year. If convicted of federal charges under the Espionage Act of wilfully retaining and transmitting classified documents, he faces 15 years in prison.

Typically, military employees who spy or leak top-secret intelligence are dubbed ‘MICE’ ...