Prosecutors will ask that Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who pleaded guilty to improper disclosure of classified information about the war in Ukraine, serve nearly 17 years in prison.
Teixeira, a 21-year-old Portuguese descendant, admitted to having illegally collected some of the most sensitive secrets in the United States and shared them on the social network Discord.
In a sentencing memo filed Tuesday, prosecutors said Jack Teixeira "perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history," the Associated Press (AP) reported Wednesday.
"As a member of the United States Armed Forces and warrant holder, the defendant took an oath to defend the United States and to protect its secrets -- secrets that are vital to the national security of the United States and the physical security of Americans who serve abroad", the prosecutors stressed.
"Teixeira violated his oath, almost every day, for more than a year," they added.
Teixeira's lawyers will argue that US District Judge Indira Talwani should sentence the Portuguese descendant to 11 years in prison.
In the sentencing memorandum, they acknowledged that their client "made a terrible decision that he repeated for 14 months."
"It is a crime that deserves serious consequences. Jack has fully accepted responsibility for the illegality of his actions and is ready to accept any punishment that must be imposed now," they stressed.
The sentence should be announced on November 12th.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transportation systems specialist, essentially an information technology expert responsible for military communications networks.
He was arrested more than a year ago in the biggest national security leak in years, and pleaded guilty on March 4 to six counts of intentionally withholding and transmitting national defense information under a deal with prosecutors that requires him to he serves at least 11 years in prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case in September.
Authorities involved in the criminal case said Teixeira began by scanning the confidential documents he accessed and then began sharing photos of files that were marked 'SECRET' and 'TOP SECRET'.
The escape exposed to the world secret assessments of Russia's war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops.
Teixeira also admitted to publishing information about a U.S. adversary's plans to harm U.S. forces serving abroad.
The stunning security breach raised alarms about the U.S.'s ability to protect its best-kept secrets and forced President Joe Biden's administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout.
The leaks sent shudders through the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members it found to have intentionally failed to take necessary action regarding Teixeira's suspicious behavior.
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