The Air National Guardsman from Massachusetts who is accused of leaking classified information online had a brief pretrial hearing in U.S. District Court in Boston on Monday morning.
Jack Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, did not appear in court for the hearing, according to The Boston Globe. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 22.
Teixeira's alleged crimes have made national headlines since his arrest in April. Last month, he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defense.
Teixeira's lawyers have been asking for a different judge to reverse a previous decision by a magistrate that said he must remain behind bars while the case plays out.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
In court papers, the defense attorneys argued that Teixeira has no financial ability or incentive to flee, and claimed the government “greatly overexaggerates Mr. Teixeira’s risk to national security." Teixeira's lawyers noted that prosecutors did not seek to detain Trump — or his co-defendant, Walt Nauta — even though the former president and his valet “possess extraordinary means to flee the United States.”
Teixeira has pleaded not guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Teixeira is accused of misusing his top-secret clearance while working as an Air National Guardsman, by accessing classified information not related to his job — including sensitive military details about the war in Ukraine.
Investigators said he was posting that information on social media group chats since early last year.
Teixeira allegedly tried destroying evidence once he realized that he was being investigated, with prosecutors adding that his actions have endangered U.S. security.
The Associated Press reported that the breach exposed secrets involving the Russian war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.
"There is no doubt the government takes it very seriously, and that is why you are seeing some additional charges," NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said. "The speed of which the indictments took place says that they are concerned about national security issues, it is an important case in that regard and they are moving very aggressively to bring the case forward."
Prosecutors and national security experts alike have questioned why and how Teixeira had access to such sensitive information dealing with national security considering he had been suspended in high school for comments made about guns and violence, and had been repeatedly denied a firearms license because of concerns raised by local police.
