Arrest of Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira brings no good news for Julian Assange

The suspect national guardsman Jack Teixeira is taken into custody by FBI agents in Massachusetts. Picture: AFP.

Another day, another Pentagon leak.

For several days now reports have circulated of a leak of top-secret information from the US Department of Defence with hints of the contents. Now a 21-year-old American man and member of the national guard, Jack Teixeira, has been arrested as the prime suspect in the intelligence breach, the largest such since Ed Snowden stole highly classified material from the US National Security Agency in 2013.

The latest breach is a significant embarrassment to the US Department of Defence and the Biden administration.

Snowdon remains holed up in Russia beyond the reach of US authorities.

But Julian Assange, the head of WikiLeaks, is in custody in the UK, fighting extradition to the US where he faces charges including 17 counts of violating the US Espionage Act (1917) and an earlier charge of conspiracy to hack into a Pentagon computer network.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made representations to senior US officials, which may include President Biden to have Assange released.

In responding to a question without notice in November last year, Albanese told the parliament, “The government will continue to act in a diplomatic way, but can I assure the member that I have raised this personally with representatives of the United States government. My position is clear and has been made clear to the US administration – that it is time that this matter be brought to a close.”

So far, no dice.

Rally for the Free Julian Assange on his 51st Birthday at the State library of Victoria. Picture: Tony Gough

Assange has been in HM Belmarsh, a maximum-security prison in Thamesmead, southeast London for almost four years. If extradited and convicted in the US, he is facing a 30-year to life term of imprisonment. The death penalty remains on the books for serious offences under the Espionage Act but under US-Australian conventions, capital punishment would not be sought by US prosecutors.

In 2017, then CIA Director, Mike Pompeo declared Assange’s WikiLeaks “walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service.”

I am no fan of Assange. Having read interviews and testimony of some of his former WikiLeaks associates, many of whom became disillusioned with his pro-Russian hacktivism, I am more inclined to accept Pompeo’s character reference than those of his supporters who view Assange as a journalist, publisher and free speech activist.

Nevertheless, I believe four years in Belmarsh is punishment enough.

I doubt intelligence officials and Department of Justice prosecutors in the US would be inclined to agree with my thoughts on crime, punishment, and mercy.

And Albanese’s singing to the choir in Australia is not likely to see US prosecutors relent in their pursuit of Assange.

Teixeira is yet to be charged but independent inquiries reveal top secret material from the Pentagon was roughly photographed, framed by what appears to be a hunting magazine. Teixeira is accused of uploading the images to a small online chat group called Thug Shaker Central on the social media messaging platform, Discord. Some of the images made their way to other social media platforms, including Reddit and 4Chan.

According to reports, some of the material is less than forty days old.

Julian Assange has been in Belmarsh prison for four years. Picture: AFP.

A substantial section of the documents relate to intelligence assessments on the state of the Ukraine’s military capabilities, with one showing Ukraine’s air defence systems were likely to be degraded by early May. There was also confirmation of the presence of US Special forces in Ukraine in small numbers (less than 20) but we should probably have expected that anyway.

Other material shows Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, may have been actively engaged in encouraging the recent mass protests in Israel against the Netanyahu government.

There is a further assessment revealing concern that Egypt and the United Arab Emirates may be negotiating with Russia to supply munitions. The Egyptian and UAE governments have denied this.

President Biden in Dublin told reporters, “I’m concerned that it happened but there is nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of great consequence.”

Meanwhile on the lunar right, Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene took to social media in support of the accused. “Jake Teixeira is white, male, Christian and anti-war. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine. Ask yourself who is the real enemy? A young, low-level national guardsman? Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, against a nuclear Russia without war powers?”

Maybe she’ll jump on Assange’s defence team, too.

The breach is the largest since that of Edward Snowden. Picture: AFP.

We could compare what is known about Teixeira and the intel he is alleged to have made public with Assange’s charges which include, among other material, US Army field reports from the Iraq and Afghan Wars, including footage of what became known as Collateral Murder, showing a US helicopter crew gunning down 18 Iraqi civilians.

Which leak is more significant? Which is more embarrassing? Has the passage of time assuaged American anger over WikiLeaks?

The answer to all of the above is it doesn’t matter.

Within hours of writing, Teixeira will be charged with offences under the US Espionage Act, just like Assange.

US intelligence and national security agencies are not inclined to show any mercy in this case. Their view is a fundamental one. Steal from us and we will come after you. Harsh, unrelenting pursuit is seen as a deterrent.

While the arrest of Teixeira may shed further light on the plight of Assange, it will only make US prosecutors more determined to see the Australian citizen face trial.