The person whom federal investigators suspect leaked classified documents about Ukraine’s war effort is a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, sources tell NBC News.
He has been identified as Jack Teixeira, 21, two law enforcement officials told NBC News, saying an arrest was imminent.
The New York Times first reported that Teixiera was being investigated as the suspected leaker.
The Massachusetts Air National Guard referred questions to the Department of Justice and FBI. The FBI declined to give a comment.
Asked to confirm investigators had identified Teixeira as the suspected leaker and were closing in on him, a spokesman for the Pentagon on Thursday afternoon referred questions to the Department of Justice and FBI, but noted that agency was reviewing how it safeguards American secrets.
“It is important to understand that we do have stringent guidelines in place for safeguarding classified and sensitive information,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. “This was a deliberate criminal act, a violation of those guidelines.”
Earlier Thursday, when President Joe Biden was asked for an update on the investigation, he said the intelligence community and the Justice Department were “getting close” in their “full-blown investigation.”
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