The newspaper reviewed online postings and found that in February 2022, an individual with a profile matching that of 21-year-old air national guardsman Jack Teixeira began posting secret intelligence on the Russian war effort to a chat group of around 600 members on Discord, which was publicly listed on a YouTube channel and easily accessible, Reuters wrote.
Teixeira, who was arrested last week, is facing one count of violating the Espionage Act related to the unlawful copying and transmitting of sensitive defense material, and a second charge related to the unlawful removal of defense material to an unauthorized location.
The leak that has embarrassed the US and its allies, appeared early April and included data on Ukraine's air defenses. The leaked files also revealed closely held information about US operations, like a suggestion there are up to 1 hundred NATO special operations officials in Ukraine, and details about casualty counts for both Russia and Ukraine. They also indicated that the US has infiltrated Russian intelligence groups.
The Pentagon has described the leak as a "deliberate, criminal act” but declined to comment on the newly discovered information.
The case is believed to be the most serious security breach in the U.S. since the WikiLeaks website published more than 700,000 documents, videos, and diplomatic cables in 2010.
(mo)
Source: Reuters