Months after an Air Force National Guardsman was accused of leaking classified information online, a documentary from PBS and The Washington Post aims to investigate the case.
“The Discord Leaks,” which premieres Tuesday, examines one of the biggest intelligence leaks in U.S. history and investigates how the man accused of the leak was granted high-level clearance despite his “troubled past,” per PBS.
What are the Discord leaks?
Dozens of classified Defense Department documents were discovered on Discord, an online forum popular with video gamers, in April. NBC reported they had first been posted to a private chat server on the platform in March.
The leaked documents included highly classified information on U.S. intelligence gathering operations, including reports on the war in Ukraine and spying on U.S. allies. Much of the information included in the documents was gathered via a form of electronic eavesdropping, and a former U.S. intelligence official told NBC the leak may have compromised some of those channels.
Who is Jack Teixeira?
Shortly after the leak was discovered, the FBI arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira on several charges relating to the transmission of classified information. According to a report of the Air Force’s investigation, Teixeira is an airman first class who had been working as a cyber transport systems apprentice in the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
The report states Teixeira’s work as a computer specialist gave him access to classified information and alleges he began sharing that information on Discord as early as Feb. 22 in a forum that discussed geopolitical events.
NPR reports Teixeira had been seen taking notes on classified information in the summer of 2022 and that he continued to do so despite supervisors telling him to destroy the notes. Another Air Force investigation determined Teixeira acted alone, but 15 service members have been disciplined for neglecting to stop the leaks, per ABC.
The investigation also raised questions into the systems that allowed Teixeira to gain security clearance despite his troubled history. According to NPR, Teixeira received a high school suspension in 2018 after allegedly speaking about Molotov cocktails and guns at school and making racial threats. He was denied a gun permit in 2018 due to those alleged remarks, but was granted one in 2020 after he enlisted.
Teixeira has pled not guilty to the charges against him. He will remain in police custody until his trial, which has not yet been scheduled.
Where to watch ‘The Discord Leaks’
“The Discord Leaks” premieres at 8 p.m. MST on PBS and YouTube and will be available for streaming on the PBS app and PBS.org.