From our correspondent
NEW YORK – Some “chat buddies” identified him as the “mole” of classified Pentagon and CIA documents, who revealed his nickname, “OG” which in slang means, original gangster, to the investigation site. Bellingcat And many other details al Washington Post But not his real name, because they have a crush on him. Then correspondents The New York TimesWith the help of a colleague from BellingcatThey traced the true identity of the suspected “mole” to classified documents posted on the Discord platform: They found him through his profile on Steam, a video game buying and sharing site, and they also noted that details had surfaced. In the margins of the photos he took of the documents (eg table and tiles) Mirroring pictures of his parents’ house available on social networks. Finally, the The New York Times He got confirmation of the name from two anonymous officials: The FBI was watching Jacques Teixeira, 21, a reservist in the 102nd Division of Intelligence in the Massachusetts Air National Guard. It was later learned that they feared he might be armed.
Reporters arrived at the parents’ home in North Dayton, Massachusetts, with mother Dawn confirming this Jack worked nights at the Cape Cod military base. Then Teixeira himself arrived in a red pickup truck. The relatives then told the press that they would get a lawyer before speaking. At that point, the FBI was quick to make an arrest.
Officers in military gear blocked off peaceful Maple Street. with hands up, The young man in the gray jersey with red basketball shorts walked out, unarmed, advanced to an armored car in front of the drawn guns. Today he will appear in court in Boston to be charged.
A Pentagon spokesperson described Teixeira’s actions “deliberate criminal act”. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed the charge, which falls under the Espionage Act. of “unlawful removal, withholding and transfer of documents” classified as sensitive to national defense. In the morning the president Joe BidenOn a trip to Ireland he said he was less interested in the published contents than in the fact that a “leakage” of this kind had occurred: “I don’t know that there is anything contemporary and that it has serious consequences”.
It is absolutely shocking that a young National Guard reservist could be responsible for this kind of “leak”, despite the fact that he works in their intelligence department. They are part-time soldiers who are not usually authorized to enter areas where classified documents are kept, known as SCIF (Sensitive Compiled Information Facility). To enter “Scif” and access “Ts/Sci” documents (Top Secret/Sensitive Fragmented Information) you need permission, then follow certain procedures and have a valid reason. according to times, Teixeira carried out his duties as an IT specialist: He was responsible for maintaining and updating systems and had access to the Department of Defense’s internal network through which classified information was disseminated, the Joint Global Intelligence Communications System.
Reservists usually work one weekend a month and two weeks a year. For someone in position to have this type of access, it is likely that they have been “ordered” to “active mission support,” which usually means being placed on active duty for a certain number of days. The printing of «Ts» documents is also usually closely monitored, but by virtue of his role, Teixeira could have been allowed to do so, according to sources in Washington Post. It is also possible that some documents were previously printed inside “Scif” and were not somehow placed in the vault or destroyed.
The leak started last year. theWashington PostHe reviewed about 300 photos of documents that had been folded in four for him to take and photocopy. These photos likely circulated online for eight months on Discord unnoticed. Now the authorities are talking about expanding websites under intelligence surveillance. The investigation is still ongoing, and it will be necessary to understand whether or not Teixeira acted alone and what was the motive. But anyway, cybersecurity experts have long warned that Discord is riddled with hackers and criminals who spread malware and steal information.
“Freelance social media evangelist. Organizer. Certified student. Music maven.”
