Pentagon Leaker Expected to Plead Guilty for Spilling Military Secrets

The young Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified military documents to an online server is poised to plead guilty to federal charges in the case next week, according to prosecutors, who signaled the incoming change of plea in a court motion filed Thursday.

Jack Teixeira previously pleaded not guilty to six charges of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, each count of which is punishable by up to 10 years behind bars. He has agreed to a plea deal, a person familiar with the proceedings told The New York Times, though it was not immediately clear what its terms were or to what charges Teixeira will plead.

The 22-year-old has been in federal custody since his arrest last April, deemed a “serious” flight risk by prosecutors, who alleged that he began wiping his digital footprint after the breach was detected and the Times published the first report of the leak. A judge agreed that Teixeira might continue attempting to obstruct the case if freed, and ruled that his “disquieting interest” in weapons and violence was another reason to keep him in pretrial detention.

Read more at The Daily Beast.