US Rep. Greene Under Fire for Defending Alleged Ukraine Doc Leaker

Facts

• US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) came under fire this week after defending 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, the suspect in the criminal case over leaked Pentagon documents that surfaced on social media platforms in the last few weeks.¹
• Teixeira, an IT worker in the Air National Guard, was arrested at his home in Massachusetts on Thursday and appeared in court the following day. He was charged with two violations of the Espionage Act — unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials. He didn't enter a plea and will return to court on Wednesday.²
• Greene, one of a handful of representatives that opposes continued US support to Ukraine, alleged Teixeira was a victim of 'the Biden regime' for being 'white, male, christian [sic], and antiwar.' She said: 'Ask yourself who is the real enemy? A young, low-level National Guardsmen? Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, against nuclear Russia without war powers?'³
• The comments drew a range of criticism. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the Committee on Homeland Security, said: 'To be clear, no member of Congress should be glorifying this individual or such criminal violations,' adding it 'endangers Americans, our allies, and US interests.' Meanwhile, Former Wyoming Sen. Liz Cheney argued that Greene should be stripped of her security clearance.¹
• Meanwhile, a new report on the leaks — citing a document dated Feb. 23 — was published late this week, stating that, according to a US intercept of Russian intelligence, China approved the 'provision of lethal aid' to Russia. While US officials said there was no evidence China has provided military aid, the report was telling in that it suggested the US had the capability to eavesdrop on Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.⁴
• On the ground, a Russian missile attack on the Donetsk city of Slovyansk late on Friday killed at least nine people and injured 21. Four people were still missing as searches continued Saturday. Meanwhile, eight civilians were injured in Russian attacks on Kherson, while one was injured in Kharkiv. Attacks were also launched on Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk without reports of civilian casualties. Pro-Russian officials said four civilians were killed and 10 injured in Ukrainian attacks on Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk on Saturday.⁵

Sources: ¹Courthouse News Service, ²CNN, ³Newsweek, ⁴Washington Post and ⁵Ukrinform.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Courthouse News Service. Marjorie Taylor Greene's defense of the alleged Pentagon leaker is both wrong and dangerous. No representative of the US government should condone the crime of leaking classified information. These types of actions threaten America's national security and shouldn't be tolerated.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by FOX News. For months, politicians and media have claimed that the US isn't directly involved in this war and that Ukraine is winning. Thanks to the leaks, Americans now know these were blatant lies. However, no politician or journalist will go to jail for misleading the public — only the 21-year-old who provided the truth.

Predictions