The Pentagon is tightening the scope of who has access to classified information following the embarrassing leaking of military intelligence documents on an online chat platform that has sparked problems with allies and adversaries around the globe in recent days.
A Defense Department spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation into the leaks but said Pentagon officials are taking the matter “very seriously.” Brig. General Pat Ryder told reporters they are working around the clock to confirm the scale and impact of the leaks.
A junior Massachusetts Air National Guard member was arrested Thursday in connection with the leaks, raising immediate questions of how someone so low on the chain of command had access to sensitive intelligence on such topics as the war in Ukraine, private discussions of U.S. allies and pending military arms deals.
“We continue to review a variety of factors as it relates to safeguarding classified materials,” General Ryder said. “This includes examining and updating distribution lists, assessing how and where intelligence products are shared.”
There’s no doubt the release of the classified information was a deliberate act. Military members receive regular training on the proper handling of classified information and sign non-disclosure agreements, General Ryder said.
“Those rules are very clear and anyone who has a security clearance knows that,” he said. “Anyone who violates those rules is doing so willfully.”
His comments came as FBI agents were arresting Airman Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member believed to have first posted scores of classified documents to a small, private chat room for gamers on the internet, some of it appearing months before officials learned it had been leaked.
General Ryder wouldn’t comment on the leaked information. “Just because classified information may be posted online or elsewhere, it doesn’t mean that it has been declassified,” he said.
Although he wouldn’t confirm any details about the suspect, General Ryder said a junior service member could have a high-security clearance depending on the job.
“We entrust our members with a lot of responsibility at a very early age,” he said. “If you’re working in the intelligence community and you require a security clearance, you’re going to go through the proper vetting.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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