Judge delays hearing for accused US intel leaker Jack Teixeira because his defense says it needs 'more time'

• A 21-year-old charged with leaking secret US military documents had his detention hearing delayed.

• Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, appeared briefly in federal court Wednesday.

• A judge had granted a motion to delay the detention hearing because the defense needs more time.

BOSTON, Massachusetts — A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly sensitive US military documents to social media had his detention hearing delayed because the defense says it needs more time to prepare.

During a second appearance at federal court in Boston on Wednesday, Jack Teixeira responded affirmatively to Magistrate Judge David Hennessy when asked if he was voluntarily waiving his right to a preliminary hearing. He was originally due in court for a detention hearing and a preliminary examination.

But earlier on Wednesday, Hennessy granted a request by attorneys to delay Teixeira's detention hearing by around two weeks. Brendan Kelley, an assistant federal defender, wrote in a motion that "the defense requires more time to address the issues presented by the government's request for detention," according to court filings reviewed by Insider.

A detention hearing, where the judge decides if Teixeira should be held indefinitely or let out on bail, has been tentatively set for May 3 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Teixeira, wearing an orange jumpsuit and necklace of rosary beads, was led into a packed courtroom shortly before 11 a.m. local time Wednesday, his hands shackled in front of him. A court official then removed his shackles and he took a seat between his attorneys while waiting several minutes for the judge to arrive.

He made a couple of head motions when speaking quietly with his attorney, and only spoke when responding to questions from Hennessy.

Teixeira was arrested by federal agents on April 13 at his home in southeastern Massachusetts after authorities identified him in connection with the leak of a trove of highly classified Pentagon documents.

The following day, during an initial court appearance in Boston, Teixeira was charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. He faces the possibility of over a decade in prison.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed on April 14, Teixeira allegedly started leaking the secret documents to a private Discord server that was used to discuss international affairs and war. Photographs of the documents first started showing up in the group in January, although classified information started flowing to its members much earlier.

"Certain of the images appear to depict Government Information that was used to inform senior military and civilian government officials during briefings at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia," the criminal complaint reads.

The classified Pentagon documents had recently circulated across various social media platforms, before becoming the center of a federal investigation. They contain highly sensitive information about US allies, like South Korea, Israel, and Egypt, and its adversaries, such as Russia, China, and North Korea.

Dozens of documents in particular focus on Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, and detail information such as casualties, attrition rates, performances of weapons systems, and battlefield capabilities.

The widespread disclosure of US intelligence triggered alarm bells in Washington and within its partner governments, some of which pushed back against the claims that were made about their respective domestic and foreign affairs.

Teixeira was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts after joining the military in September 2019. He was given "top secret" security clearance in 2021, allowing him to access the wide range of sensitive information that he has since been accused of leaking.

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