Key Points
The US airman accused of leaking top secret Pentagon documents online pleaded guilty in federal court Monday under a deal in which he accepted a roughly 16-year imprisonment in return for prosecutors dropping more serious espionage charges...
Jack Teixeira, appearing in an orange prison jump suit, pleaded guilty to six counts of willful transmission of national defense information, but in the deal worked out between prosecutors and the disgraced serviceman's lawyers he faces no espionage charges...
He will be sentenced to up to 16 years and eight months under the agreement, and must pay a fine of $50,000 and assist intelligence officials to understand the extent and impact of his disclosures...
It was the biggest such breach since the 2013 dump of National Security Agency documents by Edward Snowden and raised tough questions about access by Teixeira and other junior staffers to high-level secrets...
Prosecutors said Teixeira might still have access to classified documents and that "hostile" nations could aid his escape if he was released from prison...
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