Intelligence Committee GOP slam feds for not unmasking intel leaker

Republicans on a House intel panel chastised federal authorities Thursday for lagging behind media outlets that were first to unmask a Massachusetts Air National guardsman at the center of a stunning “digileaks” scandal.

Photos of classified Pentagon documents had circulated in an online chat room for months before media reports determined the leaker’s identity — beating US intelligence officials to the punch.

“How this type of information could be out and not be found is inexcusable,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told MSNBC.

“Certainly our committee will be following up with what went wrong here, and how do we prevent it in the future,” he said in an interview with “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

The New York Times on Thursday published a bombshell report revealing Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old guardsman apparently stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, headed an online gaming group where a trove of highly sensitive government docs first surfaced in February.

The revelation also raised questions for other committee Republicans.

“I have serious concerns investigative agencies were behind the media on this given the amount of resources Congress gives them,” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) told The Post.

Hours after The Times report, the FBI said it had arrested the leaker in North Dighton, Mass., but refused further comment.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the arrest at a press conference Thursday afternoon, saying Teixeira was taken into custody for the “unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.”

On Wednesday, The Washington Post found — also ahead of federal authorities — the leaker came from a Discord gaming channel called “Thug Shaker Central” that was formed in 2020 and was apparently run by Teixeira.

The leaked documents, which constitute the largest national security breach in a decade, were first reported last week but surfaced as early as January in Discord.

The classified docs weren’t widely noticed until February, however, when highly sensitive information relating to a spring military offensive in Ukraine first surfaced.

The initial leak on the messaging service Telegram escaped notice for almost another month as the files were posted on the imageboard 4Chan and reposted by pro-Russian accounts, which apparently doctored some images.

Afterward, the docs popped up on other social media platforms — and in April were verified by US intelligence officials.

The Pentagon files divulge details about Kyiv’s dwindling air defenses against Russia, as well as intelligence information about Israel and South Korea.

The Washington Post reported Teixeira was known to his Discord channel members by the handle “jackthedripper.”

“It took less than a week to figure out who the Ukraine intel leaker is,” said Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) said of media reports on Teixeira. “But we still don’t know the Supreme Court leaker? Interesting.”

Other conservative pundits also piled on federal authorities for letting the astounding security breach go unpunished for so long.

“The NYT just named the Pentagon leaker and hunted him down before the FBI,” said journalist Saagar Enjeti, co-host of the podcast “Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar.”

“The Washington Post allegedly found the Discord leaker in 6 days but no one can find the Dobbs leaker for going on a year,” the conservative podcast host Stephen L. Miller tweeted, referring to the draft leak of a Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

The National Guard also issued a statement after Teixeira’s arrest, acknowledging “We are aware of the investigation into the alleged role a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman may have played in the recent leak of highly-classified documents.”

President Biden told reporters in Ireland Thursday morning — before The Times’ report — that federal investigators were “close” to finding the leaker. Investigators had told the outlet they were interested in speaking with Teixeira before his Thursday arrest.