Releasing leak suspect a national security risk, feds say

Federal prosecutors will urge a judge Thursday to keep behind bars a Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents, arguing he may still have access to secret national defense information he could expose.

In court papers filed late Wednesday, the Justice Department lawyers said releasing 21-year-old Jack Teixeira from jail while he awaits trial would be a grave threat to the U.S. national security. Investigators are still trying to determine whether he kept any physical or digital copies of classified information, including files that haven't already surfaced publicly, they wrote.

"There simply is no condition or combination of conditions that can ensure the Defendant will not further disclose additional information still in his knowledge or possession," prosecutors wrote. "The damage the Defendant has already caused to the U.S. national security is immense. The damage the Defendant is still capable of causing is extraordinary."

A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday in the federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, for Teixeira, who has been in jail since his arrest earlier this month on charges stemming from the highest-profile intelligence leak in years.

Prosecutors said in their filing that Teixeira's attorneys have indicated they will urge the judge to release him to his father's home. As of late Wednesday, Teixeira's attorneys hadn't filed court papers arguing for his release.

Teixeira has been charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. He has not yet entered a plea, and his attorney declined after last week's hearing to speak to reporters.

He is accused of distributing highly classified...

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