The Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified documents appears ready to plead guilty to unspecified charges next week, according to a court filing from prosecutors posted Thursday.
Jack Teixeira, 22, pleaded not guilty in June to six federal charges of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.
The Justice Department has now requested a change-of-plea hearing for March 4, when a pretrial conference had been scheduled, indicating that Teixira will plead guilty in the case according to a court filing. A judge later confirmed March 4 for the hearing.
The filing did not indicate which charge or charges Teixeira might plead guilty to.
Teixeira was arrested in April and has been accused of leaking classified Defense Department documents on Discord, a chat app largely used by gamers. He served in the Massachusetts Air National Guard. The Air Force found that he acted alone in allegedly leaking the documents, but the military disciplined 15 others in relation to the case.
Some of the documents he allegedly posted online included “top secret,” “secret” or “sensitive compartmented information,” according to the government. They included information on Ukraine and Russia, as well as intelligence gathering on South Korea and Israel, NBC News previously reported.
He was ordered held pretrial in May after prosecutors argued that he posed a “serious” flight risk and could flee the country with the help of a “foreign adversary.”
The Justice Department and the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, where Teixeira is charged, declined to comment Thursday.
Federal public defenders listed as representing Teixeira did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Sarah Mimms and Phil Helsel contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
