The Department of Defense has revoked access to highly classified information and is “culling through” distribution lists after a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman IT specialist allegedly leaked Pentagon documents and was arrested last week.
Jack Teixeira, 21, who has been stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, is accused of publicly posting top secret government documents on the war in Ukraine and other highly sensitive matters. He was arrested at his North Dighton home last week, and arraigned on federal charges in Boston’s U.S. District Court.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a review of Department of Defense security programs, policies and procedures in the wake of this alleged leak, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday.
She was asked how many people have had their access to highly classified information restricted following the arrest of Teixeira.
“I can’t give you exact numbers on who has had access revoked, but what I can say is that we are culling through some of our distribution lists and who has access to certain information,” Singh said at a press conference.
“That effort is going to be ongoing… this is going to be a long-term effort,” she added.
The Pentagon is “taking steps when it comes to distribution lists, when it comes to printing access,” the spokesperson said.
“A very simple example would be a distribution list that has 10 people on it, and one of those people have left the organization, but they moved within the department and still have that email,” Singh said. “So, it’s culling through some of those lists, making sure that people that are sent information actually need to have that information to do their jobs.”
As a “cyber defense operations journeyman,” Teixeira had held a top secret security clearance since 2021. For this, he had to a sign a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement, acknowledging that disseminating protected information could result in criminal charges.
In addition to Teixeira’s top secret clearance, he maintained sensitive compartmented access to other highly classified programs.
In the wake of the alleged leak, Austin has directed the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security to “lead a comprehensive review of DOD security programs, policies and procedures.”
“Within 45 days, INS will provide the secretary with initial findings and recommendations to improve the department’s policies and procedures related to the protection of classified information,” Singh said.
She was asked whether Teixeira will be tried in military court down the line.
“We’re assessing this. We’re still working with the Department of Justice on this issue,” she said. “Right now, they are the lead investigators for this case, this criminal case. It’s not to say that something couldn’t come back to the Department of Defense at some point, but right now in terms of jurisdiction, we’re still working through that.”