Does Motive Make a Difference in the Pentagon Leak Case? Experts Weigh In

Brandon Van Grack spoke to ABC News about Jack Teixeira, the alleged Pentagon documents leaker who reportedly was driven to share classified information by a desire to impress friends he made online.

According to Brandon, what struck him about the case so far is the purported motive. Unlike previous individuals associated with disclosing national security and military secrets, Teixeira doesn’t appear to have been motivated by ideology or a sense of duty to inform the public.

“We’re much more familiar with individuals that appear to be whistleblowers or have a motive to disclose conduct they disagree with, and that’s not the case here,” Brandon said.

He added that the motive has no major impact in terms of the law or the case the U.S. government will bring against Teixeira. “Even if you do not intend to have harmed national security interests, the bottom line is you’ve now disclosed this to an infinite number of individuals and so the damage is done,” he said.

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