How the Pentagon leak happened: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: An Air National Guardsman has appeared in federal court after being accused of leaking Pentagon documents. Delaware State Politics Reporter Meredith Newman previews next week's Dominion-Fox trial. And USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee has everything you need to know for Tax Day. Plus, Minneapolis will allow broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer at all hours. And finally India overtakes China as the world's most populous country.
More: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.
Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is 5 Things you need to know, Saturday the 15th of April, 2023.
Today, a closer look at how a young air national guardsman shook the military intelligence community. Plus we'll preview the Dominion and Fox News trial next week. And we have everything you need to know about the final days of tax season.
21 year old Massachusetts air national guardsman, Jack Teixeira, made his first appearance in federal court yesterday to face charges that he leaked classified documents about the war in Ukraine.
A judge ordered him held in custody until at least a hearing on Wednesday. He was charged specifically with the unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information. And with the removal of classified documents, the charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years and five years respectively.
We're learning more about just how to Teixeira was able to pull this off. His job was essentially that of a military IT tech, that likely allowed him access to the secret documents he's alleged to have leaked because he would've been familiar with the Pentagon's most secret, secure computer network, according to current and former officials.
It's not likely that he would've been on the list of hundreds of authorized recipients of secret assessments about the war in Ukraine, but to share a specialty of maintaining and safeguarding the Pentagon security systems likely gave him access to the joint worldwide communication system that's been described as an internet for classified documents. You can read more on USAToday.com.
Trial is set to begin on Monday in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems has filed against Fox News and its parent company in Delaware Superior Court. And the case has already made some pretrial waves. I spoke with Delaware state politics reporter, Meredith Newman, for more.
Meredith, welcome to 5 Things.
Meredith Newman:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So let's just set the stage here first. What's at stake as this case heads to trial next week?
Meredith Newman:
Well, I think the country's going to see one of the most significant defamation cases it's seen in decades. That's what legal analysts are saying. So with lots at stake, especially for Fox News, they're being sued for $1.6 billion in damages.
And so far there has been a lot of evidence and information that's come out during pretrial and discovery that has shown a lot in Dominion's favor so far about the inner workings of Fox News and what happened after the election.
Taylor Wilson:
A judge sanctioned Fox News before the trial has even begun. Can you explain what happened there?
Meredith Newman:
Yeah, so there's two aspects to this, both of which came out during pretrial hearings. The first of which is Dominion lawyers, the company suing Fox News, informed the judge of these recordings that they learned about through a Daily Beast article.
And these recordings were made by Abby Grossberg, a former Fox producer who is suing the company, it's important to note, "For bullying her," she says, "Into giving false testimony during a deposition for this case."
These recordings involve Trump Associates and Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. And the judge found these incredibly relevant to the case. And he said that if Dominion wants to redo depositions they can, and that Fox will cover the cost and make those people available. The second aspect of this, also brought up by Dominion during pretrial hearings, is Rupert Murdoch's, Fox chairman, and his relationship to Fox News.
They say during the two years of litigation that have occurred in this case, that Fox has said that Rupert Murdoch is not a corporate officer of Fox News. He's a corporate officer for Fox Corporation in his role as chairman.
And they were making that distinction, because they say he's not involved in the day-to-day workings of Fox programming.
Dominion said they got an email on Sunday that included information that said Rupert Murdoch was in fact a corporate officer for Fox News. And so Dominion argues that getting this information so late in the game prevented them from getting a significant number of documents during discovery that would've been related to Rupert Murdoch.
And it's important to note that Fox said that they did not withhold this information, that they say it was available in public documents. But also Murdoch made it clear they say in his deposition.
Also important to note that Judge Eric Davis said he felt misled by Fox in this regard, and he very much scolded Fox lawyers on this issue and dressed them down at certain moments.
And so even said that they have a credibility problem and questioned if they were telling the truth. In that regard, he said that he's likely to authorize an investigation into this issue to determine if he's going to do additional sanctions. So as of this point just before trial, we don't know what or if those sanctions will be.
Taylor Wilson:
So Meredith, there are a lot of players in this trial, including some big names on the Fox side like Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson. Who do we expect will actually testify?
Meredith Newman:
That's a good question. Rupert Murdoch is I think very likely to testify, considering what Dominion has been arguing. Many people are expecting him to take the stand, which would be a really big moment.
And then in terms of other people testifying, there's a really long witness list of more than 100 people. But I think what's been expected so far, and things can always change, is Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and other I think very recognizable Fox News hosts as well as executives.
Suzanne Scott is the CEO of Fox News. Lachlan Murdoch, who is the son of Rupert, also CEO of Fox, is also potentially expected to testify. I think a lot of pretty recognizable people could be in Wilmington to testify.
Taylor Wilson:
Meredith, I'm curious about what kind of spectacle we should expect from this trial. It obviously centers around a television network. So that begs the question, will cameras be allowed inside the courtroom?
Meredith Newman:
Yeah, that's a big no. There won't be any cameras in the Delaware courthouse. That's Delaware courthouse policy.
But yeah, I think a lot of people are going to want to watch this trial, considering the players and considering that it revolves around the most watched cable news network in America. But yeah, access is going to be limited, but of course they can read coverage.
Taylor Wilson:
And we'll be following along with your coverage throughout. Meredith Newman, thanks so much.
Meredith Newman:
Thanks.
Taylor Wilson:
Tax season is almost at the finish line. For what you need to know in these final days, USA Today Money and Personal Finance reporter, Medora Lee, has you covered? Hello, Medora.
Medora Lee:
Hi, how are you today?
Taylor Wilson:
Good, thanks. Thanks for coming back on the podcast.
Medora Lee:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So today is April 15th, which is historically tax day. So is today the deadline for filing taxes?
Medora Lee:
Today is not the deadline, because people don't work on Saturday. So we have a few extra days this year, and the tax deadline is April 18th.
Taylor Wilson:
And if you can't make that deadline, how can you file for an extension here in these last few days?
Medora Lee:
So if you're really squeezed and you can't file by April 18th midnight, you should file for an automatic extension. And that will give you a new deadline of October 16th.
But this is very important to know, that only gives you an extension to file your taxes. That does not give you an extension to pay your taxes. So you have to make sure that you come up with some sort of estimate if you owe taxes, and send a check by April 18th.
Taylor Wilson:
So Medora, there are some exceptions to this deadline in a few states. What are those?
Medora Lee:
There are some, because of the big storms that we've had, the terrible weather we've had, the IRS sometimes gives people some grace. So if you live in one of these seven states, you will get a longer time to file your taxes.
And these states include Arkansas, Alabama, California, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, and Tennessee. And they all have slightly different deadlines, like for example, May for New York, May 15th, and then Tennessee has a July deadline. Same as Mississippi, July. Georgia, May. Just go ahead and check the IRS website to see when those deadlines are if you live in one of those states, and you'll be good.
Taylor Wilson:
So Medora, there might still be time for folks to save money with a deduction. How can they do this using an IRA?
Medora Lee:
So this is a good thing to know too. If you're still looking to save some money, you can contribute to your IRA and I believe even some HSAs by April 18th, and you can still take that deduction for tax year 2022.
Just make sure that when you make your contribution, you designate it for tax year 2022. And then you should be able to take that deduction. And I think that it's $6,000 unless you're old. Then you get an extra $1,000 catch-up contribution. So if you have that money laying around, go ahead and put that in by April 18th.
Taylor Wilson:
Medora, there's been a spike in refunds this season. Why is that?
Medora Lee:
So the IRS has been working actually more efficiently than it has been in the past few years. Surprise, surprise.
So they've been able to process returns and turn out refunds faster than they did last year. So that's the good news. So you will get your refund likely faster if you have no issues with your tax return. The bad news is the average refund is down about 11% from last year, and that's mostly due to the fact that a lot of the pandemic benefits and credits expired.
Taylor Wilson:
The IRS issued a statement this week about 2019 taxes, for those who never filed, maybe because of COVID or other reasons. What do folks need to know here?
Medora Lee:
If you have not yet filed a tax return for 2019, the IRS says that you can still file your tax return and claim a refund for that tax year.
Generally, the IRS gives you three years to file a tax return and claim a refund. So for the 2019 tax year, this is your final chance to claim a refund. You have until July 17th to do that, otherwise you lose your refund.
Taylor Wilson:
Medora Lee, happy taxes. Thanks so much.
Medora Lee:
All right, thanks so much. Bye-bye.
Taylor Wilson:
Minneapolis has become the first US city to allow broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer at all hours. The announcement, or Adhan, will now be heard over speakers five times a day year round.
The Minneapolis city council unanimously agreed yesterday to amend the city's noise ordinance, which had previously prevented dawn and late evening calls at certain times of the year due to noise restrictions, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The vote came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Minneapolis has had a flourishing East African immigrant population since at least the 90s, and three of the council's 13 members identify as Muslim, according to the AP.
India has overtaken China as the world's most populous country. China previously had the most people since 1950 when United Nations population data began. Both countries have more than 1.4 billion people, and combined make up more than a third of the world's population.
China has an aging population though these days, even after the government seven years ago moved away from its one child policy and just two years ago said couples could have three children.
India has a much younger population, a higher fertility rate, and a decrease in infant mortality over the past three decades. India has more babies born each year than anywhere in the world, while China is now like many European countries, with more deaths each year than births.
Meteors are back. After the usual wintertime lull to meteor shower activity here on earth, the broad peak for the Lyrid meteor shower will begin tonight. The average Lyrid shower produces 15 to 20 meteors per hour, according to space.com. You can see them starting now, but their biggest peak will be between April 21st and 23rd.
Thanks for listening to 5 Things.
You can find us every day of the week right here wherever you get your audio. James Brown is back with the Sunday edition tomorrow, and I'll see you Monday with more of 5 Things from USA Today.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How the Pentagon leak happened: 5 Things podcast
