A former Massachusetts Air National Guard man accused of stealing and posting classified Pentagon records online is asking a federal judge to release him and overturn a decision. previous ruling He remains in pretrial detention. The request offers a direct comparison to former President Donald Trump, who remains at large awaiting trial for his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Lawyers for Jacques Teixeira on Monday appealed the May detention order imposed by Justice of the Peace David Hennessy, asking a Massachusetts federal district court judge to reconsider Teixeira’s release, arguing that the defendant presents no flight risk, poses no risk of obstruction of justice and can be released. under certain circumstances.
“A young man of 21, of modest income, who has never lived anywhere other than his parents’ home, has neither the means nor the ability to escape a nationally recognized prosecution. Mr. Teixeira has no real connections outside of Massachusetts, and lacks a The financial ability to support himself if he were to escape, his lawyers wrote Monday, “Even if Mr. Teixeira showed any inclination to become a notorious fugitive, which he expressly did not do, he simply has nowhere to go.”
Government prosecutors say Teixeira was behind the leaking of government secrets about US interests abroad, including detailed information about the war in Ukraine. Teixeira has been charged under the Espionage Act with the unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and the removal and preservation of classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors argued that the former military technology worker’s access to classified materials posed a national security risk and could present risks in the future. But in defending his release, Teixeira’s defense refuted the allegation, writing: “The government confiscated electronic devices and conducted a thorough search of the residences of his mother and father, which failed to produce any evidence to show that a trove of top-secret information might still come out.”
Monday’s filing remarkably compares Teixeira’s case to that of trumpcharged with illegally retaining national defense information. Trump and the defendant, Walt Nauta, remained free from pretrial detention after prosecutors in the office of special counsel Jack Smith requested no jail time or electronic monitoring. The conditions of their release were limited to avoiding discussing the case with each other and with other witnesses.
“The government’s disparate approach to pre-trial release in these cases demonstrates that its argument for the pre-trial detention of Mr. Teixeira based on the information he allegedly holds is fictitious,” the defense filing states, listing other examples of similar cases as well.
Teixeira, unlike Trump, is accused of passing classified information, according to his indictment. While federal prosecutors allege in the indictment against him that Trump showed classified documents to others on two occasions, the former president has not been accused of releasing classified information on a scale similar to the allegations against Teixeira.
Both Trump and Naota have pleaded not guilty.
Teixeira’s lawyers also argued that any forum in which he shared the information — including the Discord group in which they first appeared — is likely no longer operational.
“Mr. Teixeira does not pose a serious national security risk because he lacks the means and the ideological desire to engage with a foreign adversary to harm the United States,” the suit states, adding that Trump also had access to highly dangerous information and was not detained.
— Katherine Watson and Melissa Quinn contributed reporting.
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