United States v. Teixeira

• Docket Number: CRIMINAL ACTION 1:23-cr-10159-IT
• Decision Date: 01 September 2023
• Parties: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JACK DOUGLAS TEIXEIRA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
JACK DOUGLAS TEIXEIRA, Defendant.

CRIMINAL ACTION No. 1:23-cr-10159-IT

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts

September 1, 2023

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

Indira Talwani United States District Judge

Defendant Jack Teixeira is charged with willfully retaining and transmitting classified national security information that he obtained through the top secret security clearance he received as a member of the Air National Guard. Following Teixeira's arrest, the government moved for detention pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 3142(f)(2)(a) and (b) of the Bail Reform Act. The Magistrate Judge held a hearing and issued a Memorandum and Order on Detention [Doc. No. 37] granting the government's request. Teixeira now seeks revocation of the detention order under 18 U.S.C. § 3145(b). Appeal of Magistrate Judge Decision (“Appeal”) [Doc. No. 77]. For the following reasons, Teixeira's request to vacate the detention order is DENIED.

I. Background^[1]

A. Overview

Teixeira is 21 years old and is a lifelong resident of North Dighton, Massachusetts. Def.'s Mem. 1 [Doc. No. 83]. His parents are divorced, and both still live in North Dighton. Id. From 2017

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until his arrest, Teixeira resided with his mother and stepfather except when he was stationed out of state. Id.

In 2019, when he was 17 and in his senior year of high school, Teixeira enlisted as a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Id. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Teixeira attended specialized information technology and cybersecurity courses at Kessler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Government's Supp. Mot. in Support of Pretrial Detention (“Supp. Mot. for Det.”), Ex. K [Doc. No. 19-10]. Teixeira completed his basic training in 2020. Def.'s Mem. 2 [Doc. No. 37].

In 2021, Teixeira was granted Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. Criminal Complaint Affidavit ¶ 24 [Doc. No. 3-1]. At the time of his arrest, he was on active duty as an Airman First Class, classified as a Cyber Defense Operations Journeyman in the United States Air Force, 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts National Guard, stationed at Otis Air National Guard Based on Cape Cod. Def.'s Mem. 1-2 [Doc. No. 83].

B. Proffered Evidence Relating to the Charged Offense

As part of the process to obtain his security clearance, Teixeira signed numerous nondisclosure and other agreements stating that he understood the nature of the information now accessible to him, that he would not improperly store or share that information, that he understood the potential risks posed to the United States by the disclosure of that information, and that he agreed to accept these obligations. Supp. Mot. for Det., Ex. A (Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement) [Doc. No. 19-1]; id., Ex. B (102d

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Intelligence Wing Information Technology User Agreement) [Doc. No. 19-2]; id., Ex. C (General Information Systems Acceptable Use Policy and User Agreement) [Doc. No. 19-3].

According to Certificates awarded to him, Teixeira completed training in March 2022 and March 2023 regarding Unauthorized Disclosure of Classified Information and Controlled Unclassified Information. Government's [Second] Supp. Mot. in Support of Pretrial Detention, Ex. C (Certificates of Completion) [Doc. No. 34-5].

According to Department of Air Force memoranda from September 2022, October 2022, and February 2023, Teixeira was cautioned not to “deep dive” into classified information, not to view content unrelated to his primary duty, and not to take notes of any form on classified information, or documents containing classified national defense information, outside of the scope of his duties. Id., Ex. B-1 [Doc. No. 34-2]; Id. Ex. B-2 [Doc. No. 34-3]; id., Ex. B-3 [Doc. No. 34-4].

Despite these directives, a government audit reports that Teixeira conducted hundreds of searches on a U.S. government agency's classified network between February 26, 2022, and April 17, 2023, and that through these searches, Teixeira accessed hundreds of documents and classified reports. Decl. of Luke Church, Special Agent, FBI, Ex. D ¶¶ 6-9 [Doc. No. 19-4]. Special Agent Church reports that Teixeira searched a number of subjects, many of which were related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Id. at ¶ 7.

The government contends that records obtained from a social media platform show that Teixeira disclosed government information on at least three separate servers, including one that had at least 150 unique users, some of whom represented that they lived in foreign countries, and some of whom used foreign IP addresses to log on to the social media platform. See Decl. of Luke Church, Special Agent, FBI, Ex. 3 ¶ 4 [Doc. No. 86-3]. According to Special Agent Patrick

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Lueckenhoff, Teixeira initially posted summaries of the information in the documents he accessed and eventually shared photographs of the documents themselves. Criminal Complaint Affidavit ¶¶ 16-18 [Doc. No. 3-1].

Special Agent Church reports further that Teixeira engaged in direct message (DM) conversations with various users, some of whom the government believes to be foreign nationals, about the information he obtained and that between November 1, 2022, and April 7, 2023, Teixeira sent 40,000 messages on the social media platform, including exchanges with other users where he acknowledged that the information he was sharing was classified. Decl. of Luke Church, Ex. I ¶ 4 [Doc. No. 19-8]. For example, on one occasion he shared information about refugees from the Russia-Ukraine conflict entering a certain country with a user he knew to be from that country. Id. He also offered users information that went beyond what he was already sharing, posting in one instance: “if you guys do [] want happenings that pertain to your country or events or politics or whatever you can DM me and I can tell you what I have[.]” Id.

The government reports that in a November 2022 message on the social media platform, when asked by another user if the information he was posting was classified, Teixeira bragged about how he had “plausible deniability” about posting classified material. Id. The government contends moreover that Teixeira brazenly ignored his nondisclosure obligations, posting, at one point, “I'm breaking a ton of U[nauthorized] D[isclosure] regs . . . Idgaf what they say I can or can't share.” Decl. of Luke Church, Ex. A ¶ 5 [Doc. No. 34-1].

On April 13, 2023, a reporter visited Teixeira's mother's house and suggested that Teixeira had leaked classified information. Transcript of Detention Hearing 36:2-7 [Doc. No. 24]. Teixeira's mother requested that Teixeira return home, and he obliged. Id. at 36:4-14. Later

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that day, when officers arrived at his home, Teixeira was waiting on the front porch and submitted to arrest without incident. Id.; Appeal, Ex. 1 (arrest photos) [Doc. No. 77-1].

C. Proffered Evidence Relating to Obstruction of Justice

On April 6, 2023, another user advised Teixeira that some of his postings may have been “passed along.” Decl. of Luke Church, Ex. I ¶ 4 [Doc. No. 19-8]. The government contends that upon receiving that information, Teixeira took steps to conceal his role in sharing the information. He reportedly asked users on the social media platform to delete his messages and posts, and to not tell anyone anything about him. Id. The government contends that the same day, Teixeira used government computers to search classified intelligence reporting for the word “leak.” Criminal Complaint Affidavit ¶ 27 [Doc. No. 3-1]. Following his arrest, the government located an iPad and other electronic items known to belong to Teixeira in a dumpster, but was unable to recover data because the iPad's memory chip was damaged. Decl. of Luke Church, Ex. 3 ¶ 9 [Doc. No. 86-3]; see also Ex. J (photos of devices) [Doc. No. 19-9]. Along with those devices, the government also discovered the remnants of a computer tower, but did not find any internal data-storing electronic components, such as a hard drive. Id. ¶ 10. Teixeira also apparently disposed of his cell phone, telling a fellow Airman on his last shift before his arrest that his old phone flew out of the window of his car and was run over by a semi-truck. Decl. of Luke Church, Ex. D ¶ 11 [Doc. No. 19-4].

The government reports that neither the data storage components of the computer-i.e., the hard drive-nor the hard-copy documents that Teixeira printed have been recovered.

D. Proffered Evidence Relating to Teixeira's Other Activity and Statements

In high school, Teixeira was suspended for remarks he made. Teixeira has dismissed the comments as innocent discussion of a video game, but as the Magistrate Judge noted, “witnesses

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dispute Defendant's explanation and, as the sealed exhibit [Doc. 19-11] shows, go further.” Mem. and Order on Detention 16 [Doc. No. 37].

In a letter written a year and a half later when seeking to obtain a Firearm ID, Teixeira reported that he was “very cognizant of the world around [him] and know[s] how powerful words can be.” Supp. Mot. for Det., Ex. F (Teixeira November 2020 letter to Officer Ferreira) [Doc. 19-5]. He stated further that:

I realized after the [high school] incident and of course understand now that what I say matters and to weigh my words, knowing now [how] the “ripple in the pond” effect works.... I now have the situational awareness and social disciplines I lacked in March of 2018 and am very aware of my surroundings when I speak.

Id. Teixeira explained further that “[w]ith wearing the uniform and being a representative/ambassador of the United States Air Force, and now having a Top Secret clearance,” he understood that he “need[s] to watch what [he] say[s] and do[es] both in public and in private, as it affects more than just myself.” Id.

The government reports that in November 2022,...