House lawmakers to investigate leak of classified documents

The House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees announced this week that they would begin investigations into the leak of classified materials pertaining to sensitive security matters.

Writing to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, pressed him for details as to how the leak occurred, Fox News reported.

"Americans and our allies are asking how such a serious leak was able to occur with such ease and breadth," the Republicans wrote. Authorities have arrested Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, 21, in connection with the leak.

Teixeira allegedly posted a wide array of classified materials on a Discord server dubbed Thug Shaker Central, which included enthusiasts of various war games. Discord is a popular messaging app that caters to gamers.

"The world has watched as classified national security secrets leaked widely and precipitously across the internet," they added. "The unauthorized disclosures appear extensive. The period over which they occurred unnoticed by government authorities is lengthy."

The pair seeks "immediate access to all relevant and pertinent information necessary to inform the Committees’ determination of whether this incident might be corrected or prevented in the future through legislation or other policy-related adjustments."

Teixeira faces charges under the 1917 Espionage Act. One of his friends asserted that Teixeira merely sought to inform his friends on the conflict, saying "[t]his guy was a Christian, anti-war, just wanted to inform some of his friends about what’s going on."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.