Massachusetts Air National Guard Airman Jack Teixeira, who already pleaded guilty in a federal court in March to leaking military documents online, will now face additional charges in a military court.
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed the military trial plans in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times on July 17.
The Air Force spokesperson said military prosecutors officially referred the new charges on July 2.
Mr. Teixeira now faces two charges in a military court.
The first charge is for violating Article 92 of the military’s justice system, known as the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Article 92 obligates military personnel to obey lawful general orders and regulations.
Military prosecutors contend Mr. Teixiera violated UCMJ Article 92 by repeatedly disregarding an instruction to stop accessing information not pertinent to his duties as a cyber transport systems specialist at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts.
Mr. Teixeira faces a second charge for violating UCMJ Article 131b, which prohibits the obstruction of military justice.
Prosecutors say Mr. Teixeira violated this UCMJ article in two specific ways.
Firstly, he allegedly attempted to dispose of an iPad, computer hard drive, and cell phone, that contained evidence of his leaking activity between March 1 and April 13, 2023.
Secondly, he allegedly deleted messages he posted on the Discord social messaging platform on April 13, 2023.
His trial will take place at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. A start date has not yet been set.
The original criminal case against Mr. Teixeira centered on six counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information.
Charging documents in the earlier case stated the airman had accessed military planning documents marked “Secret” and “Top Secret.”
Prosecutors said he first typed out the contents of classified documents he intended to share online, and then later began sharing photographs of the documents.
The leaked documents included sensitive details about the war in Ukraine, including operational plans and the status of weapons systems and supplies donated to Ukrainian forces.
As part of his March plea agreement, Mr. Teixiera admitted guilt for the six counts of retaining and transmitting national defense information.
The U.S. Department of Justice, in turn, agreed not to charge him with additional counts for violating the Espionage Act.
Mr. Teixiera was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in the original case.
He will also have to pay a $50,000 fine and undergo 36 months of supervised release following his prison term.
The move to now try Mr. Teixeira in a military court comes after a proceeding in May at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
Mr. Teixeira’s legal team argued that holding a military trial after he'd already plead guilty in federal court could negatively impact his constitutional right against being held in double jeopardy.
Gary Barthel, an attorney specializing in military cases, told The Epoch Times following the May hearing that the new charges would likely overcome the double jeopardy defense argument.
“Since the offenses the accused is now facing in the military justice system are different than those the accused previously pled guilty to in federal district court, arguably double jeopardy would not apply in this case,” Mr. Barthel said.
