On Wednesday, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee were given a confidential briefing on the highly classified Pentagon papers that were purportedly disclosed by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, sometimes known as "Snowden 2.0."
Before the briefing, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to express "serious concerns" regarding the cache of classified documents Teixeira is alleged to have posted in a personal Discord chat server.
"According to public reporting, A1C Teixeira began sharing classified information and classified documents within a social media platform as early as December 2022 — nearly four months before the government's discovery," the letter said. "These revelations point to serious weaknesses in the government's security and insider threat vetting protocols."
The two also requested to see copies of every piece of sensitive information Teixeira, 21, is accused of sharing with his online friends before the information swept across several websites on the internet like wildfire.
According to Warner, the secret document controversies involving President Biden and former President Donald Trump, as well as the Pentagon leaks, call for legislative action. Warner made this statement to the media on Wednesday.
Warner said Fox News, "I believe it's time for Congress to act in view of the magnitude of this breach and in light of the problems that we've yet got settled regarding current and previous presidents possibly mishandling materials.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said that authorities "have a long way to go" in explaining how a 21-year-old was given access to that level of sensitive material after leaving a secret briefing on the Pentagon leaks.
When Sullivan stated, "This is Snowden 2.0," he was alluding to the former National Security Agency contractor who, in 2013, disclosed confidential information that showed how Americans were being surveilled in great numbers.
Rubio referred to it as "stunning" following the briefing that national security and intelligence personnel learned of the leaks until after media stories.
According to Fox News, Rubio stated, "I think it's stunning that the Department of Defense and the intelligence agencies found out about it primarily from the press - it's unacceptable."
"I want us to cooperate with these agencies that we have had in the past. Every day is tougher than the last. And incidents like these only make matters worse... Every month that passes appears to make it more difficult to acquire information, bemoaned Rubio.
The head of the intelligence panel went on to say that Congress is "at a crossroads" and must choose whether to "rubber stamp" or offer "oversight of intelligence activities."
Rubio said, "I'm not in the rubber stamp camp, and I think most of my colleagues aren't either," charging the Biden administration's intelligence community of "deliberately withholding information" from Congress.
On Wednesday, Teixeira's detention hearing, which would have established whether he would be kept in jail while awaiting trial, was postponed by a federal judge in Boston.
Teixeira will now be held in custody for at least a further two weeks so that his legal team may prepare for the hearing.
Before the briefing, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to express "serious concerns" regarding the cache of classified documents Teixeira is alleged to have posted in a personal Discord chat server.
"According to public reporting, A1C Teixeira began sharing classified information and classified documents within a social media platform as early as December 2022 — nearly four months before the government's discovery," the letter said. "These revelations point to serious weaknesses in the government's security and insider threat vetting protocols."
The two also requested to see copies of every piece of sensitive information Teixeira, 21, is accused of sharing with his online friends before the information swept across several websites on the internet like wildfire.
According to Warner, the secret document controversies involving President Biden and former President Donald Trump, as well as the Pentagon leaks, call for legislative action. Warner made this statement to the media on Wednesday.
Warner said Fox News, "I believe it's time for Congress to act in view of the magnitude of this breach and in light of the problems that we've yet got settled regarding current and previous presidents possibly mishandling materials.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said that authorities "have a long way to go" in explaining how a 21-year-old was given access to that level of sensitive material after leaving a secret briefing on the Pentagon leaks.
When Sullivan stated, "This is Snowden 2.0," he was alluding to the former National Security Agency contractor who, in 2013, disclosed confidential information that showed how Americans were being surveilled in great numbers.
Rubio referred to it as "stunning" following the briefing that national security and intelligence personnel learned of the leaks until after media stories.
According to Fox News, Rubio stated, "I think it's stunning that the Department of Defense and the intelligence agencies found out about it primarily from the press - it's unacceptable."
"I want us to cooperate with these agencies that we have had in the past. Every day is tougher than the last. And incidents like these only make matters worse... Every month that passes appears to make it more difficult to acquire information, bemoaned Rubio.
The head of the intelligence panel went on to say that Congress is "at a crossroads" and must choose whether to "rubber stamp" or offer "oversight of intelligence activities."
Rubio said, "I'm not in the rubber stamp camp, and I think most of my colleagues aren't either," charging the Biden administration's intelligence community of "deliberately withholding information" from Congress.
On Wednesday, Teixeira's detention hearing, which would have established whether he would be kept in jail while awaiting trial, was postponed by a federal judge in Boston.
Teixeira will now be held in custody for at least a further two weeks so that his legal team may prepare for the hearing.
