A U.S. Air Force employee has been charged with illegally sharing classified national security information about Russia's war in Ukraine on a foreign online dating site.
David Franklin Slater, aged 63, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly conspiring to transmit and transmitting national defense information from around February 2022 until approximately April 2022.
Slater had retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in late 2020, then worked at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska under the Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) as a civilian employee.
Slater attended USSTRATCOM briefings on Russia's war with Ukraine, then sent classified information to a "co-conspirator" claiming to be a woman living in Ukraine via a foreign dating platform, according to the indictment.
The classified information allegedly shared by Slater includes details on military targets and Russian military capabilities. Slater had signed a non-disclosure agreement in 2021, the indictment said.
Slater "knowingly transmitted classified national defense information to another person in blatant disregard for the security of his country and his oath to safeguard its secrets," said Matthew G. Olsen, assistant attorney general with the Justice Department's National Security Division.
Prosecutors said that Slater "regularly communicated" with the alleged co-conspirator, who is not named in the indictment. The alleged co-conspirator described Slater as "my secret informant," and "secret agent" in messages from 2022.
"Dear, what is shown on the screens in the special room?? It is very interesting," read one message from the alleged co-conspirator in March 2022.
Newsweek has reached out to USSTRATCOM for comment via email. USSTRATCOM is responsible for the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
"Certain responsibilities are incumbent to individuals with access to top-secret information," said U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr for the District of Nebraska. "The allegations against Mr. Slater challenge whether he betrayed those responsibilities."
"When people violate the trust given to them to safeguard our nation's intelligence, they put our country at risk," added Eugene Kowel of the FBI's Omaha Field Office. "We will continue working shoulder to shoulder with our partners to protect the American people and uphold the constitution by safeguarding our country's classified information."
Slater is expected to make his initial court appearance in Nebraska on Tuesday. He could face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of conspiracy to transmit and the transmission of national defense information, according to the Justice Department.
Update 5/3/2024 at 4:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
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