Jack Teixeira is the Air National Guardsman who is accused of leaking classified documents. As one would expect, Mr. Teixeira has asked to be released from jail while he awaits trial and the government opposes release. Yesterday, the government filed a motion to support pretrial detention and Catherine Herridge was happy to uncritically repeat their claims:
According to DOJ newly-filed memo, the Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified materials had a cache of weapons + tactical gear surrounding his bed, reports @CBS_Herridge. Prosecutors allege the 21-year old is a flight risk.pic.twitter.com/4QzyuC8mF7
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) April 27, 2023
Oh, it’s so shocking that so many weapons would be kept by a … (checks notes) … National Guardsman? Does she know any military types?
Looks like the room of a soldier…
— @amuse (@amuse) April 27, 2023
Ya, imagine that…a soldier with weapons and gear.
What in the world was he thinking?!? Terrorist!
— MikeyLikesIt (@M__i__k__e__y_1) April 27, 2023
— Jon Gault (@swatter911) April 27, 2023
And that assumes you don’t freeze the frame and look a little closer:
Weapons? pic.twitter.com/VYwnZKB3O8
— 2ATexan (@2ndATexan) April 27, 2023
Those look like WMD's to me, time to deploy the infantry.
— Fiji (@cc_fiji) April 27, 2023
Heh.
The kid was obviously into Airsoft. Their "tactical gear" assertion is farcical.
— 2ATexan (@2ndATexan) April 27, 2023
Well, they could leave a bruise …
— Lee Williams (@HT_GunWriter) April 27, 2023
@CommunityNotes another layup for you
— The Prickly Ambivert (@PricklyAmbivert) April 27, 2023
I still can't get over the accuracy though pic.twitter.com/rPeuomAROs
— Fiji (@cc_fiji) April 27, 2023
Airsoft ISIS…😂 https://t.co/aMjnux8n1c
— The Highviëwan (@FlueyKung) April 27, 2023
Imagine running this story about a cache of weapons while showing a pile of toys.
Journalists wonder why they are relentlessly bullied and chastised while continuing to literally ask for it. https://t.co/KRRQGwX1uw
— Shadz (@Shadzey1) April 27, 2023
We’re not here to defend Mr. Teixeira as some kind of angel, pure as driven snow. But this is just bad journalism.
The same report claims that he made violent, racial and anti-Semitic comments or threats. However, there are several problems with that. First, in terms of the alleged racial and anti-Semitic elements, we can’t locate any actual or alleged quotations of what he said and you can be called a racist just for criticizing the government of Communist China, and an anti-Semite just for criticizing George Soros, so we’re going to need more than the DOJ’s word that he exhibited any kind of bigotry. Second, part of what they think shows that he is dangerous is the fact that his search history includes searches for ‘Uvalde’ and ‘Las Vegas shooting’—so if you got to this page by searching for those terms, congratulations! You’re probably on a government watchlist, now. Third, while there are a few instances of him saying violent things like imagining how he might turn a vehicle into an ‘assassination van,’ there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that he has actually done any violent thing. He seems like he is all talk.
He also seems to have been rejected at least twice for a Firearms Identification Card in Massachusetts, which is a limited carry permit, due to his comments. It’s not clear if he has any license to carry at all today, which raises questions Ms. Herridge doesn’t seem interested in asking:
A known dangerous anti-Semitic, weapons-obsessed, racist Isis supporter the DOJ says. And the military gave him access to compartmentalized classified intelligence. Sure, this story adds up.
— Whispers of Dementia (@mgEyesOpen) April 27, 2023
Passed Background Checks
Psych Exams
Security Clearance
But, oh wait, in high school…
But, oh wait, he’s racist…
But, oh wait he’s got weapons (let’s call it a cache hee hee)
— Ken (@policy_help) April 27, 2023
Yet he had clearance? Hmmmm…..something s not adding up. And the something usually is the cover up by our own government….let's talk about the documents he released. How about that.
— SallyThatClemsonGirl (@SallyTiger) April 27, 2023
Obtaining a high security clearance at his age is not unusual. I had a Top Secret clearance at age 19. He worked in a career field that required it. Now, the guns and ammo are pure hyperbole.
— Jay Pavey (@jay_pavey) April 27, 2023
You do need to pass a thorough back ground investigation to get clearance first. Even interim clearance BI would flag prior inappropriate behavior & disqualify anyone from access to classified material.
— J9 (@Jay9Hinch) April 27, 2023
These Tweeters seem to be thinking in a conspiratorial direction. It is certainly strange that he was given such high-level clearance despite the alleged red flags in his background. However, we are willing to accept incompetence as an explanation.
And a few Tweeters were old enough to remember when Ms. Herridge worked for Fox News and was less likely to fall for this kind of bull:
I thought you were better than this… 🤦🏻♂️
— a hoplite with no name (@nonamehoplite) April 27, 2023
Catherine, notice the orange on the muzzle? Cache of Airsoft BB guns? 😂 You're better than this.
— JD 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲 (@JWD01325378) April 27, 2023
You sold out.
— Gary Leigh (@GaryLeigh007) April 27, 2023
And at all times, its important not to lose sight of this:
A 21 year old kid exposes that the government is lying about the war and instead of the media covering the lies, they broadcast the lying government’s smears about the kid.
🙃
— Hoosieratarian (@Hoosieratarian) April 27, 2023
Sad to attack the messenger while ignoring the message. Perhaps an article on why these documents were kept from the American people.
— JC Howell (@AuthorJCHowell) April 27, 2023
Are you going to talk about the substance of what was leaked? Thought you were better than this.
— OmnipotentKev (@KevOmnipotent) April 27, 2023
Cathrine, any comment on the Biden regime lying through their teeth about everything Ukraine/Russia? Or are you just going to keep attacking the whistleblower because your billionaire boss tells you to. https://t.co/SMEEWOxrav
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) April 27, 2023
We don’t know if Mr. Teixeira was driven by good motives or stupid ones. But the revelation that we have American troops in Ukraine was something we deserved to know, as indicated in this article:
Are American Troops Fighting in Ukraine? What U.S. Intel Leaks Revealhttps://t.co/BHOTSH4Yin
— Siri Rathod (@sirimahanthesh) April 14, 2023
This would seem to mean that the Biden administration is misleading us:
Biden says putting U.S. troops on ground in Ukraine is 'not on the table' https://t.co/pDba2Gdsnb pic.twitter.com/5vkhf1qhpL
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 8, 2021
And it would mean that Biden was taking us perilously close to World War III. The American people had a right to know that.
Thus Mr. Teixeira did something that was good. Did he do it for the right reasons? We have no idea and we are not going to assume the government’s claims about his motives are accurate. But the fact that he told us something that we had a right to know shouldn’t be forgotten. Nor should we lose sight of the bigger issues he exposed.
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