Lindsey Graham calls fellow Republican ‘irresponsible’ for defending Pentagon leaker

Senator Lindsey Graham condemned his fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene as "terribly irresponsible" on Sunday, after the far-right congresswoman defended the air national guardsman charged with leaking Pentagon intelligence documents.

Speaking on ABC's This Week show, Graham said the leaks had "done a lot of damage to our standing" and criticized "those who are trying to sugarcoat this on the right".

Taylor Greene, a known conspiracy theorist and election denier who was controversially named to the homeland security committee in January, had suggested on Thursday that Jack Teixeira, an airman in the air national guard who has been charged under the Espionage Act after allegedly leaking hundreds of secret defence documents, had been treated unfairly.

"There are military members serving today from Georgia and other places who are less safe because of what this airman did," Graham told ABC.

"There is no justification for this, and for any member of Congress to suggest it's OK to leak classified information because you agree with the cause is terribly irresponsible and puts America in serious danger."

Teixeira published at least 300 documents, according to reports, to the Discord messaging platform. Some of the documents included details on Ukraine's defense capabilities, while others pointed to how US intelligence has infiltrated the Russian military and appeared to show US spying on close allies including Ukraine, South Korea and Israel.

After Teixeira was arrested at his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, on Thursday, Taylor Greene said he had been targeted by the government.

"Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more," Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, said on Twitter.

"Ask yourself who is the real enemy? A young low level national guardsmen? Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-Nato nation, against nuclear Russia without war powers?"

Other rightwing figures have also defended Teixeira, with Tucker Carlson, the influential Fox News host, praising him as someone who "told Americans what's actually happening in Ukraine".

Asked about Greene's comments on Sunday, Graham said: "What they're suggesting will destroy America's ability to defend itself."

"That it's OK to release classified information based on your political views. That the ends justify the means. It is not OK. If you're a member of the military intelligence community and you disagree with American policy and you think you're going to be OK when it comes to leaking classified information, you're going to go to jail. It's one of the most irresponsible statements you can make," Graham said.

He added: "There is no justification for this. And for any member of Congress to suggest it's OK to leak classified information because you agree with the cause is terribly irresponsible. And puts America in serious danger."

Teixeira was charged in federal court in Boston on Friday with the unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, and the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.

Each charge under the act can carry up to a 10-year prison term, and prosecutors could treat each leaked document as a separate count in his indictment.