Sen. Lindsey Graham blasted fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday for her defense of the man who leaked intelligence secrets online, calling her “terribly irresponsible.”
‘It’s OK to release classified information based on your political views,’ Green and others who have defended Jacques Teixeira said. ‘The end justifies the means. It’s OK.’
“It’s one of the most irresponsible statements you can make,” he said on ABC this week. The way we collect intelligence protects our country. There are military personnel serving today from Georgia and other places that are less safe because of what this pilot did.
There is no justification for that. And for any member of Congress to suggest that it is acceptable to leak classified information because you agree that the reason is irresponsible and puts America in grave danger.
Senator Lindsey Graham blasted fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene for defending the man who leaked intelligence secrets online.
Green, a Republican congresswoman from Georgia, alleged on Friday that Teixeira is being sued for being “white, Christian, and anti-war.”
Teixeira, a 21-year-old National Guard man, leaked files detailing potential arms deliveries to Ukraine, as well as outlining the number of foreign intelligence agents inside the country.
“Jake Teixeira is white, male, Christian, anti-war,” Green wrote on Twitter, incorrectly spelling his first name. “That makes him an enemy of the Biden regime.”
“He told the truth about the presence of troops on the ground in Ukraine and much more,” she added. Ask yourself, who is the real enemy?
Green has long opposed US assistance in the war in Ukraine. Her comments came as Teixeira appeared in court in Boston, Massachusetts to face two counts of leaking classified information.
Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina who also served in the National Guard, said he was baffled by how Teixeira had access to such sensitive information.
I was a captain and a major. I would be surprised if I had that kind of information,” he told ABC News.
He added, “I don’t know what led to this pilot’s actions, but it did a lot of damage to our standing.” “And I am amazed that someone at this level could have so much access.”
So the question is how did he get it and why did he do it. And we — some people need to fire us because of this.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that Jacques Teixeira is on trial for being “white, Christian and anti-war”.
President Joe Biden said Friday he had ordered investigators to determine why the alleged leaker had access to sensitive information, which included records showing alleged details of Ukraine’s military vulnerabilities and embarrassed Washington by revealing its spying on allies.
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said their committee plans to conduct a full investigation.
She said the senators will receive a briefing about the leak this week when they return to Washington, D.C., after spring break.
I have a lot of questions about, why were these documents scattered? Why did this particular person gain access to them? Where was the custody of the documents and to whom were they? These are important questions that we can ask the Intelligence Committee so we can have stronger surveillance.
She also said she wanted to know more about Teixeira.
We want to know who this pilot was, and why he felt he had the power or ability to flaunt classified documents and classified documents to his friends. It seems that he was very immature and someone who did not understand the weight and importance of these documents. And so we need to know that and put appropriate protections in place.
Teixeira has been charged with federal espionage law for his alleged role in the Pentagon leak.
He faces 15 years in prison if he is convicted of taking and leaking classified information and military secrets.
But questions are being raised about how Teixeira, who lived with his mother in North Dayton, Massachusetts, obtained permission to access sensitive documents.
Jacques Teixeira worked as a Junior Cyber Security Specialist in the National Guard
FBI agents arrested Jacques Teixeira at his mother’s home in North Dayton, Mass., on Thursday
According to the indictment, Teixeira obtained a high-level security clearance in 2021 as a member of the National Guard. He worked as a junior cybersecurity specialist in the Intelligence Unit at Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod.
He posted a trove of top secret files under his online username “Jack the Dripper” for months before the leak was revealed.
Teixeira’s next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19.
