Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira spoke from prison for the first time: Exclusive

In an exclusive interview from a federal prison, where he is currently serving a 15-year sentence of what the prosecutor is called one of the most significant leaks of the US National Defense Secret, Jack Teixeira spoke for the first time since his arrest more than two years ago to ABC News that he did not feel he betrayed his country and would take the same action again if he had the opportunity to do things.

The 23 -year -old said he was also attractive to President Donald Trump for forgiveness in what he called the “politicized” case under Biden’s government.

“I mean to educate the US populist people about what is happening. That does not endanger the United States or the country because I love my country. I am a patriot,” Teixeira told ABC News by telephone from the medium security federal correctional institutions in Virginia. “It was not intended to endanger my country, but I believe that I need to educate people about what is happening because I believe they are lied to.”

Watch “Good Morning America” ​​at 7 am ET for more than an interview with Jack Teixeira and his mother, Dawn Dufault.

He said he believed that the mission had been achieved “at a significant level.”

“I don’t feel that I betrayed my country at all, just the opposite,” he said. “I believe that I educate many people who have been stored in darkness and are lied to about this about all the things that have happened.”

The prosecutor said that when he served as the National Guards of Air Massachusetts, Teixeira misused a secret permit and accessing and posting images of hundreds of secret documents, including those related to the movement of troops in Ukraine and the details of Chinese spy balloons, on the dispute of the game platform. Other documents distributed include “discussing plots by foreign enemies to target US troops abroad,” according to the indictment.

The FBI said his actions created “very serious and durable damage to the national security of the United States,” While the General Merrick Garland said Teixeira “endangering the national security of our country and our allies” when he repeatedly shared national defense information classified online “in an effort to impress Anonymous friends on the internet.”

Teixeira pleaded guilty to last year’s six federal charges to maintain and transmit national defense information intentionally. Instead, the prosecutor agreed not to sue him with an additional count based on the Espionase Law.

He also pleaded guilty to military charges for blocking justice during this year’s military court, avoiding additional confinement and accepting dishonorable dismissal as part of his defense agreement.

After the sentence in the federal case, Joshua Levy, who was conducting a US lawyer for the Massachusetts District, said Teixeira “abusing his position” and placed himself in his country when he exploited secret permits and “making intentional choices” for more than one year to access hundreds of secret documents and share with them. “This significant sentence sends a strong message to every individual who has a secret permit,” Levy said.

The FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement that the sentence was “a sharp warning for all who was entrusted to protect national defense information: betrayed that trust, and you would be held accountable.”

‘I still believe in my actions’

When he served a federal sentence, Teixeira said no one was harmed by his actions. He said his apology in a statement during his sentence in a federal court was intended for his family and friends and how this affected them.

“I still believe in my actions,” he said.

Teixeira said she was sure that her case was politicized and that she would not deserve 15 years behind bars.

“I just feel that someone has done things that are far worse as far as they do with similar information, and they are not as bad as treatment as I do,” he said. “But my case is specifically politicized by the Biden government.”

“I think I was used as a sacrificial sheep, and I was crucified to be made as an example,” he continued.

When serving as an information technology specialist, Teixeira used a safe work station at its Massachusetts Pangkalan to carry out hundreds of searching for secret documents related to national defense information that was not related to their duties, the prosecutor said.

Asked why he ignored his training and leaked confidential information, Teixeira said, “I believe that many people and many different people will determine what secrets to be saved, and I’m not sure how fair things I witnessed and nothing I have witnessed. Looks like you can say it.”

Apart from the warnings from his superiors to stop “diving” into the intelligence information classified, he “deliberately and repeatedly deleted information and secret documents containing NDI without permission,” said the prosecutor.

Pressed up why he continued to access information outside the scope of his duties even though he was told to stop, Teixeira claimed that he was encouraged to do “the opposite of the direction” and to “do our thorough test and see what we support and why we support it and what happens.”

“I felt like when I was advised because I followed the direction that I was given by a superior, so it was only a clash that I believed to contradict,” he said.

Teixeira did not discuss specifically, but said she was sure there were “lies” that were spread about what happened about the “tactical and strategic aspects” of the Russian-Ukraine War and US assistance for Ukraine.

“Many things that the administration said at that time was wrong, it was misleading, it was really wrong, or it was leaning, and basically only, I wanted people to know exactly what was happening so that no one could say, ‘well, that’s like this because of the history or textbook that will happen,”‘ ‘he said, I just wanted to do this, “” “He just wanted to know that,” “I just want to show that it will happen,” “” He just wanted to know that it would happen, “” “”

Apart from the sentence of 15 years, he said he would not change what he was doing.

“I have tortured myself repeatedly about what will happen if I don’t do this, or what will happen if this and that. And in reality, it is not very important,” he said. “I still believe that, yes, I’ll do it again.”

Teixeira said her lawyer was trying to get a forgiveness petition to Trump, and that he was sure he would be forgiven.

“I think they will see someone like me as a supporter and someone who really uses what I think will be my last voice in County prison for Trump for 2024. And I only, I believe that he will,” he said.

A lawyer for Teixeira submitted a forgiveness request on Wednesday. Such requests are usually submitted after the federal sentence is completed, even though the application records that he is looking for full forgiveness rather than just a change of sentence. In the end, it will depend on Trump’s government to approve or reject his request.

Teixeira appealed to Trump to “Please give me back to my family, to reunite with my family with my rights as an American and with my freedom.”

Ms. Teixeira spoke for the first time

Teixeira’s mother, Dawn Dufault, also appealed to Trump in her first interview since the arrest of her son in April 2023, said he thought his prosecution was “evil” and the “sensational case.”

“He did not do it to endanger the country,” Dufault told ABC News in an exclusive interview in Boston. “They tell the public that they will make an example from Jack.”

He said he wanted Trump to look into this case and “See how my son was treated.”

“If he agrees that it is an unfair treatment, give him forgiveness,” he said.

Dufault reflects the arrest of his son, saying, “That is very surprising to me.”

“That morning, the New York Times reporter descended on the entrance I asked to meet him. That was the first hunch that I had that something was wrong,” he said. “We have watched the news, the stories, they tried to find this person to divulge documents. Do not know. And that is April 13, that all of this began. At that time, they asked, they said that they would run articles that named him as a leaker. I still did not believe. It could not be trusted for me.” “

Dufault said he still had questions about why his son did what he was doing, but he did not believe he was a threat.

He said he believed his son “forced to tell the truth” and make choices to share secret documents with friends in disputes. He added that Teixeira was also recently diagnosed in the spectrum of autism, and had an obsessive-compulsive disorder, which he thought might also be a factor in his actions.

“I think it was also played in his coercion to fight his oath he brought to the government,” he said. “I feel like part of it might not be controlled because what we now know is autism.”

Dufault said Teixeira came from a military family, and they were worried about national security after leakage.

“How does that improve? Can this happen again? Does anyone see that? Is anyone caring? It is very focused on the character of Jack versus what really happened, how it happened, and what could be done to improve the security of our national secret,” he said. “We love this country. We love the government. We are not conspiracy theorists. But I feel more need to be done to see what is happening.”

An Air Force Inspector General investigation found that people in the Teixeira unit “failed to take the right action after realizing their intelligence search activities” but that there was no evidence that the supervisory chain members were aware of unauthorized disclosures. Fifteen people receive disciplinary and other administrative actions to “negligence in carrying out their duties,” and the Air Force Department said they apply several reforms to improve the protection of information that is classified and sensitive.

Dufault described his son as a “good child” who has changed since his arrest, became more self -aware and appreciated his family.

“I think he needs a second chance,” he said. “I think he is still destined for something great. I always have, and I still feel that way.”