NSA Official Indicted For Leaking Info
April 15, 2010
| 11:40 AM
A former senior executive with the National Security Agency has been indicted for leaking classified information to a newspaper reporter, the Justice Department said Thursday in a statement.
A federal grand jury in Maryland returned a 10-count indictment against Thomas A. Drake alleging he engaged in willful retention of classified information, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Drake worked for the NSA as a high-ranking official from 2001 through 2008, where he had access to highly classified documents and information, according to the statement.
He is accused of having leaked classified information via e-mail and in printed copies to the reporter, whose identity and newspaper were not revealed by the department. Drake allegedly exchanged hundreds of e-mails with the reporter and met the reporter in person. In addition, the department alleges Drake sought additional classified and unclassified information from other "unwitting" NSA employees to provide to the reporter. Drake also allegedly shredded documents and lied to federal officials when confronted about his conduct.
"As alleged, this defendant used a secret, non-government e-mail account to transmit classified and unclassified information that he was not authorized to possess or disclose," Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer said in a statement. "Our national security demands that the sort of conduct alleged here - violating the government's trust by illegally retaining and disclosing classified information - be prosecuted and prosecuted vigorously."
Categories:
Crime
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