Marjorie Taylor Greene defends National Guardsman suspected of leaking classified docs

Updated

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday defended the man arrested in connection with a high-profile investigation into leaked classified documents.

In a tweet just hours after the FBI arrested Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, 21, Greene, R-Ga., praised his alleged actions and implied President Joe Biden was "the real enemy."

“Jake 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 member of the Homeland Security Committee, said on Twitter. "Ask yourself who is the real enemy?”

Her comments were at odds with remarks from the handful of Republicans who weighed in on the arrest by praising law enforcement and calling for accountability over the leak.

Federal authorities continue to investigate the leak, which exposed U.S. intelligence about Russian efforts in Ukraine and spying on American allies.

Greene's remarks were met with backlash from some Democrats.

David Axelrod, the chief strategist of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, called Greene’s tweet about Teixeira “truly nuts,” while Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., accused her of siding with one of the country's "biggest traitors."

House Speaker Kevin "McCarthy’s top lieutenant is siding with one of the biggest traitors America has seen," tweeted Swalwell, who sits on the Homeland Security Committee with Greene. "I’m sorry, Marge, being white, male, and Christian is not license to betray your country and put the lives of thousands at risk. But this wouldn’t be the first time she sided with traitors."

In 2020, Greene tweeted that then-President Donald Trump should pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is wanted on criminal charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. files, and Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed U.S. surveillance programs.

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