Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira is expected to plead guilty in federal court

BOSTON (AP) — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other national security secrets, is expected to plead guilty on Monday in federal court.

The 22-year-old is due to appear in Boston’s federal courthouse for a change of plea hearing nearly a year after he was arrested in the case stemming from the most consequential national security leak in years.

Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been behind bars since his April arrest in the case that raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout.

The leak led the Pentagon to tighten controls to safeguard classified information, and the Air Force disciplined 15 personnel as its inspector general found last year that multiple officials intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira expected to plead guilty in federal case </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Air Force disciplines 15 people over massive classified documents leak </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

Teixeira had previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act. Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in