Jacques Teixeira, a member of the United States Air National Guard who received a classified defense permit just two years into his enlistment, a permit that has been accused of abuse for leaking important classified documents and now raises other questions.
• Also read: Secret US documents leaked: the 21-year-old accused
As US authorities try to assess the damage this leak, the most significant to the country in a decade, has done, they must also explain why the 21-year-old soldier had such a permit at such a young age and such a low rank.
The case does seem to point to loopholes in procedures aimed at preserving state secrets.
“segmented access”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters on Wednesday during a trip to Sweden that Jacques Teixeira’s age “is not really the issue,” noting that “it is not exceptional for young people to perform important tasks in our armed forces.”
The young man “was a computer specialist and worked in an intelligence unit. Part of his responsibilities, the minister said, was to maintain the network they were working on.”
The problem, according to Lloyd Austin, “is how responsibly you perform your duties and how you protect information. We all have an imperative to do that. Supervisors have a duty to make sure of that.”
Jacques Teixeira enlisted in the Air National Guard in September 2019 and in 2021 received a classified defense clearance as well as “sensitive access to other top-secret programs,” according to a federal police court document. criminal proceedings against him.
He is accused of using that access to photocopy sensitive documents and share them in an online discussion group he runs.
From there, dozens of these images spread to the Internet, revealing classified information to the public, such as the concerns of the US intelligence community about the feasibility of a Ukrainian counterattack against Russian forces, or the gathering of information on US allies.
Multiple security holes
“It’s not unusual for someone that age to be given a classified defense authorization,” Glenn Gerstel, a former attorney for the National Security Agency and Central Security Service, told AFP.
says Glenn Gerstil, now consultant for the Center for Strategy and International Studies think tank.
“It is not entirely clear why he (Jacques Teixeira) would need access to detailed intelligence reports,” he adds, explaining that a soldier should not have been able to print sensitive documents, much less to move them from a safe.
Thus Glenn Gerstel points the finger at “multiple security holes”.
Speaking to elected members of the US Congress on Tuesday, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown explained that Jacques Teixeira had “exploited his access” to classified documents.
“We have many safeguards in place to protect classified information,” General Brown said.
“It is clear in this case that the procedures did not work,” he concluded.
