US investigators examined whether Massachusetts Air National Guard Private Jacques Teixeira, the man accused of leaking a trove of top-secret documents, interacted with anyone from a foreign country or government before they were posted online, Politico reported. Three people familiar with the investigation.

According to the officials, there is no clear public evidence that Teixeira, 21, had such connections or was part of an organized foreign espionage operation, as some US and Ukrainian officials have claimed.

But the people said the Biden administration and law enforcement agencies searched for any contact he had with foreigners as part of a broader investigation into the motives and intent behind his alleged leak of classified information. A fourth person, a former US intelligence official, said: "We still don't know who this guy was talking to outside of the Discord server and whether he had any other intention to leak documents other than wanting to impress and impress friends."

Politico quoted Mick Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official and retired CIA officer, as saying that it is standard practice for investigators to examine a suspect's potential ties to foreign governments and entities, especially in leak cases. He noted that Department of Defense and CIA personnel must disclose any "close and ongoing" contact with aliens.

If they find any external links, it means that the leak was likely from more harm than thought, in the event the accused coordinated with a foreign government, or that the material was available to foreign officials before it became known to the American public.

To date, Teixeira has been charged with "unauthorized retention of classified documents, transmission of national defense information" and "unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials." Each charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The US Department of Justice is leading the investigation into Teixeira's case, while the Pentagon and intelligence agencies are looking into her violations of confidentiality and military oath laws.

It is noteworthy that the US Department of Defense closely monitors the activity of any employee on the Joint Global Intelligence Communication System, which is a secure "intranet" network system that includes highly classified and sensitive information, including information that is accessed, downloaded and printed.

The Pentagon is also reviewing Teixeira's records, including his security clearance, as part of the investigation, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The Defense Department hopes the review will help determine whether changes to procedures around access to classified documents need to be made.

The newspaper quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that Teixeira specializes in information technology and has been assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing, which gives him access to the computers of analysts tasked with packing intelligence for senior military leaders. The CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence responded to a request for comment.

Understanding Teixeira's motives is also important for the government in determining how to prevent such leaks in the future.

It is noteworthy that the leak allegedly carried out by Teixeira differs from previous intelligence abuses, including those committed by Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks. Teixeira is accused of publishing the documents on social media, instead of encapsulating them and filtering them through the press, and it did not appear that they were disseminating intelligence information as a result of a specific ideology.

The leaked documents include extraordinary details of troop and battlefield movements by Kiev and Moscow in Ukraine, as well as other global issues such as Iran's development of its nuclear program, protests in Israel, and China's relationship with Russia. They also reveal the extent of US spying on its adversaries and allies.