Former CIA analyst pleads guilty of leaking information on Israeli plans to attack Iran

A erstwhile CIA expert pleaded blameworthy Friday successful national tribunal successful Virginia to charges that helium leaked classified accusation astir Israeli plans to onslaught Iran.

Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Virginia, was arrested past twelvemonth successful Cambodia and aboriginal taken to Guam. He faces a maximum punishment of 10 years successful situation connected each of the 2 charges: retention and transmission of classified accusation related to the nationalist defense.

Rahman had worked for the quality bureau since 2016 and had a top-secret information clearance.

Prosecutors said Rahman illegally downloaded and printed classified documents astatine enactment and past took the documents home, wherever helium altered the items to screen up the root of the accusation earlier distributing it.

The concealed accusation was yet published connected the Telegram societal media platform.

A Justice Department connection said that opening successful the outpouring of 2024 and lasting until November, Rahman shared the “top-secret information” helium learned astatine his occupation with “multiple individuals helium knew were not entitled to person it.”

“Government employees who are granted information clearances and fixed entree to our nation's classified accusation indispensable committedness to support it,” Robert Wells, enforcement adjunct manager of the FBI’s National Security Branch, said Friday successful a statement.

“Rahman blatantly violated that pledge and took aggregate steps to fell his actions. The FBI volition usage each our resources to analyse and clasp accountable those who illegally transmit classified accusation and endanger the nationalist information interests of our country,” Wells said.

The Justice Department said Rahman destroyed diary entries and written enactment products connected his idiosyncratic physics devices “to conceal his idiosyncratic opinions connected U.S. argumentation and drafted entries to conception a mendacious communicative regarding his activity.” He besides destroyed respective different physics devices, including an net router that the Justice Department said Rahman “used to transmit classified accusation and photographs of classified documents, and discarded the destroyed devices successful nationalist trash receptacles successful an effort to thwart imaginable investigations into him and his unlawful conduct.”

The Associated Press reported that Rahman was calved successful California but grew up successful Cincinnati and graduated from Yale University aft lone 3 years.

Rahman is scheduled to beryllium sentenced May 15.

Some accusation for this study came from The Associated Press and Reuters.