Ashley Tellis, a long-serving official with a Top-Secret security clearance who worked as a senior advisor at the Department of State and a contractor for the Department of Defense, was arrested on October 11 in connection with the alleged unlawful retention of classified national defense information.
Mr. Tellis, 64, of Vienna, Virginia, appeared last week in the Eastern District of Virginia for a detention hearing.
During a court-authorized search of his residence, investigators reportedly recovered over 1,000 pages of documents with classification markings, including those labeled SECRET and TOP SECRET. These highly sensitive materials were allegedly found in locked filing cabinets, a basement home office, and even in trash bags stored in a basement utility area.
“For those entrusted with our country’s most sensitive information, protecting it is a privilege and solemn responsibility,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sue J. Bai of the Justice Department’s National Security Division stated. “We will hold this defendant accountable for breaching that trust and exploiting his security clearance to unlawfully retain classified information detailing our military capabilities.”
According to court documents, Mr. Tellis held a Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access. His roles included working for the U.S. Department of State since 2001 and serving as a contractor for the Department of Defense’s Office of Net Assessment. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The court documents outline specific instances of alleged misconduct in which Tellis accessed and removed classified materials from secured facilities, including a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at the Department of Defense.
Allegations include:
- Manipulating Digital Files: Altering the filename of a classified document, printing portions under the altered title, and then deleting the re-named file.
- Physical Concealment: Being observed placing classified materials into a notepad and concealing them within his personal briefcase before leaving a secured government facility.
Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the FBI Washington Field Office stressed the swift action taken: “By allegedly removing classified documents from government facilities and storing them in his basement, Mr. Tellis betrayed that trust. The FBI and our federal partners acted quickly to execute a court-authorized search warrant and arrest Tellis to protect our national security and prevent highly classified defense information from falling into the wrong hands.”
The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Schlessinger and Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division are handling the prosecution.
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