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An arrest has been made in connection to intelligence leaks, US official says
US authorities continue to track down the latest details on leaked US classified documents and who may be behind a major national security breach that has rocked Washington in recent days. Follow here for latest live news updates.
Law enforcement arrested Jack Teixeira Thursday in connection with the leaking of classified documents that have been posted online, according to a US official familiar with the matter.
Teixeira, 21, is a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. His arrest comes following a fast-moving search by the US government for the identity of the leaker who posted classified documents to a social media platform popular with video gamers.
Teixeira was first identified by The New York Times Thursday ahead of his arrest as the leader of the group where a trove of classified documents was posted.
Some background: The FBI had narrowed the number of people who they believe could be responsible for the leaks and have been conducting interviews in recent days, two people briefed on the matter said earlier.
While there's a large number of people who had access to the documents, investigators have been able to home in on a small number for closer scrutiny, thanks to the forensic trail left by the person who posted the documents. Investigators are working on building a case for prosecution, people familiar with the matter say.
What we know about what happened: The documents appeared online last month on the social media platform Discord, according to screenshots of the posts reviewed by CNN.
The posts are photos of crumpled documents laid on top of magazines and surrounded by other random objects, such as zip-close bags and Gorilla Glue. It is as if they had been hastily folded up and shoved into a pocket before being removed from a secure location, a source familiar with these kinds of documents told CNN.
A Discord spokesperson confirmed in a statement Sunday that they are cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.
