Accused Pentagon leaker Teixeira argues he should be treated like Trump and not remain in jail

Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified information online, is arguing in court that he should be treated like former President Donald Trump by not requiring him to remain incarcerated until his trial. 

Attorneys for Teixeira wrote in a filing Tuesday obtained by ABC News that prosecutors made a "reasoned decision not to seek pretrial detention in other espionage cases, including most recently for either former President Donald Trump or his personal aid, Waltine Nauta," who are facing charges under the Espionage Act.

Teixeira was arrested in April and has remained behind bars ever since. He pleaded not guilty to all charges last month after he allegedly published hundreds of pages of classified documents over several months on the messaging platform Discord.

Attorneys for Teixeira said he is entitled to be released before his trial because he does not pose a serious flight risk. 

"Prior to his arrest, Mr. Teixeira believed that his apprehension was imminent. If Mr. Teixeira was inclined to flee from law enforcement and his country, he would have done so at that time. Instead, without any judicial restraints or obligations, Mr. Teixeira chose to stay at his mother’s house, reading, expecting law enforcement to arrest him," the defense wrote.

Comparing his case to that against the former president, Teixeira's attorneys also wrote that Trump has a private plane and properties in multiple foreign countries but the government did not even request for Trump to turn over his passport.

"The government’s disparate approach to pretrial release in these cases demonstrates that its argument for Mr. Teixeira’s pretrial detention based on knowledge he allegedly retains is illusory," the defense attorneys said.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.