Prosecutors plan to argue that a Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine should serve nearly 17 years in prison.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday, prosecutors said Jack Teixeira "perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history."
"As both a member of the United States Armed Forces and a clearance holder, the defendant took an oath to defend the United States and to protect its secrets - secrets that are vital to U.S. national security and the physical safety of Americans serving overseas," prosecutors wrote. "Teixeira violated his oath, almost every day, for over a year."
Teixeira's attorneys will argue that U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani should sentence him to 11 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 12.
In their sentencing memorandum, they acknowledged that their client "made a terrible decision which he repeated over 14 months."
