What should happen to people who intentionally leak secret government documents?

[Been There]

It could be that this young man was trying to impress his friends by telling them things only someone with a high security level would know while playing games on the website where he was found out. From what I have read, the information leaked doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal. It did expose the fact that South Korea was (is) shipping ammo to Ukraine. I doubt if this made North Korea happy. The only thing that I think about is —“Is this kid being set up?”

Edward Snowden did more damage than this kid. He’s living a good life in Russia. His wife and kids are also becoming Russian citizens and may already have gone through the process.

 

[WhatInThe]

Unless a whistle blower-charges of somekind

 

[Jackie23]

I think they should throw the book at Teixeira, he is a traitor.....and also crack down hard on all these crazy dangerous right wing groups that promote these kinds of actions.

 

[Don M.]

The illegal release of Secret/Classified documents should definitely be punished, IMO. With so many Lunatics governing many of the nations, the release of some of this information can put us all at an increased risk.

 

[deaver]

I held a security clearance higher than top secret at the age of 25. I handled cryptographic keying materials daily including setting up the most secretive offline decoding machine that was based on the old german enigma. I dealt with officers half again older than me who thought they could do as they pleased with the classified documents and whom I had to dissuade from that fact. here are the classifications at that time
unclas-printed on white paper
unclas (efto) encrypted for transmission only-printed on white paper
confidential-printed on green paper
secret-printed on yellow paper
top secret-printed on pink paper, catalogued with a number, placed inside a white envelope and signed for by officer
special intelligence-printed on white paper with a pink diagonal stripe only issued simultaneous with top secret
got a lot of stories to tell, most I signed non disclosure forms and I aint telling even after all these years.
and that is about as far as I need to go to get my ego trip satisfied.

 

[Myrtle]

There is no reason for the public or another nation to expect transparency when it comes to military secrets. There is a very valid reason for having secret items in order to protect this nation.

Traitors who leak these get the firing squad. End of discussion.

In today's permissive society, it won't happen of course as too many bleeding heart liberals think they have the right to know what the military is doing at all times. Wrong, but that's the way it is.

No, it won't happen. This country lost its backbone a long time ago. At the most they may slap his wrist and give him a participation award.

 

[Timewise 60+]

Shoot them, so we don't have to support them forever...

But, I suppose they will give him life in jail...

 

[Liberty]

Deport them.

 

[Disgustedman]

I think they should throw the book at Teixeira, he is a traitor.....and also crack down hard on all these crazy dangerous right wing groups that promote these kinds of actions.

Because the govt does and continues to spy on its own citizens? Well, I can guess why you wouldn't want THAT disclosed.

 

[Alligatorob]

There is no reason for the public or another nation to expect transparency when it comes to military secrets.

I agree, and there are other non-miliary reasons a government needs it secrets. And there are very legitimate reasons for the government to sometimes spy on its own citizens. That is why we can't tolerate leakers.

However, I think we need better oversight and control of these things, too many examples of things the government should not have done or kept secret.

also crack down hard on all these crazy dangerous right wing groups that promote these kinds of actions.

Not just right wing...

 

[Flarbalard]

scroll down for the video of him being arrested..

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...sponsible-Pentagon-secret-documents-leak.html

The army still issues garrison caps?

 

[Murrmurr]

What should happen?

A fair trial. Meanwhile, they should be presumed innocent until a jury reaches a verdict.

 

[hawkdon]

I held a security clearance higher than top secret at the age of 25. I handled cryptographic keying materials daily including setting up the most secretive offline decoding machine that was based on the old german enigma. I dealt with officers half again older than me who thought they could do as they pleased with the classified documents and whom I had to dissuade from that fact. here are the classifications at that time
unclas
unclas (efto) encrypted for transmission only
confidential
secret
top secret
special intelligence
got a lot of stories to tell, most I signed non disclosure forms and I aint telling even after all these years.
and that is about as far as I need to go to get my ego trip satisfied.

I had the same exp as you, only in the Navy...on the enigma copycat as well as newer stuff, which of course would be obsolete today...

 

[Alligatorob]

I held a security clearance higher than top secret at the age of 25.

I held a DOE Q clearance for a while. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_clearance Never much used it.

I found the process of getting one long and painful, and I'd imagine expensive to someone. I wasn't much impressed, don't think a lot of the interviewers were amongst the best and brightest...

Let it go after a couple of years, too much trouble to keep and like I said I didn't really need it. I do know that even years after when I'd go near any secret places the guards and all seemed to know I had once had one. Got me into a semi-secure place years after it expired.

 

[Lawrence00]

It's different today with government officials using their positions for purely political reasons. It's not about the safety of our nation and our soldiers. Their lies should be exposed.

And that arrest was over the top showboating. Making the kid in a t-shirt and shorts walk backwards to them when there was at least a dozen agents in full military gear and automatic weapons surrounding him.

 

[Alligatorob]

It's different today with government officials using their positions for purely political reasons. It's not about the safety of our nation and our soldiers.

Unfortunately I don't think that is new...

 

[ElCastor]

I think they should throw the book at Teixeira, he is a traitor.....and also crack down hard on all these crazy dangerous right wing groups that promote these kinds of actions.

We have political rules around here, as in no politics. You should be reported for this post, but I will refrain, if you do to.

 

[Geezer Garage]

I second Ben on this. The government does an incredibly poor job of keeping top secret materials under wraps.

 

[jet]

shoot him,let it be a deterant

 

[Alligatorob]

Edward Snowden did more damage than this kid. He’s living a good life in Russia. His wife and kids are also becoming Russian citizens and may already have gone through the process.

Does anyone "live a good life" in Russia? He will always be a fugitive, unless we figure out how to catch him one day... and I think that day may come. The next regime in Russia may be more friendly to the US, or he may make the mistake of traveling to the wrong country...

I think we can adjust penalties depending on actual harm done

Why do you think? We don't adjust criminal penalties for theft based on how much the victim needed what was stolen.

In reality the offenders in these cases often have no idea how much damage they are causing, and since a lot of the information is secret we often never know either. Any release of this kind of information could put lives at risk. The law is the law, break it at your own risk.

 

[SeniorBen]

Jack Teixeira recorded himself making antisemitic and racist slurs before opening fire on a target.

The leak is believed to have started on a site called Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games and where Teixeira is believed to have posted for years about guns, games and racist memes.

That said, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.

 

[Pecos]

shoot him,let it be a deterant

I think he should go to jail for years but shooting him would be a disaster. If that were done, imagine how hard it would be for the military or the government to ever recruit anyone into any field requiring a clearance.

 

[jet]

I think he should go to jail for years but shooting him would be a disaster. If that were done, imagine how hard it would be for the military or the government to ever recruit anyone into any field requiring a clearance.

so you saying its ok to sell secrets,because if there was a deterent no one would join the military?,,,they shot deserters in the war,folks still join up

 

[JustDave]

Why do you think? We don't adjust criminal penalties for theft based on how much the victim needed what was stole.

In reality the offenders in these cases often have no idea how much damage they are causing, The law is the law, break it at your own risk.

I fixed the first comment. Need has never been a defense that I can remember.

The second is a reasonable argument and I don't need to debate it. I even considered it when I first heard about the arrest.

 

[perChance]

When those further up the food chain get away with breaking the law regarding classified documents, perhaps the little guys think it is okay for them to do it too.