Defense Intel Agency Employee Accused of Leaking Secrets to Journo Girlfriend

October 9, 2019 by Dan McCue
Defense Intel Agency Employee Accused of Leaking Secrets to Journo Girlfriend
The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. (Photo by Dan McCue)

WASHINGTON – A Defense Intelligence Agency employee from Alexandria, Virginia was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly leaking classified information to his journalist girlfriend and a second journalist.

Henry Kyle Frese, who is identified in court documents as a counterterrorism analyst, was arrested when he showed up for work in Reston, Va.

John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said the 30-year-old Frese has been indicted on two counts of willful transmission of national defense information to persons not entitled to receive it.

“Frese was caught red-handed disclosing sensitive national security information for personal gain,” Demers said.

“Frese betrayed the trust placed in him by the American people — a betrayal that risked harming the national security of this country,” he continued. “This is one of six unauthorized disclosure cases the Department has charged in just over two years, and we will continue in our efforts to punish and deter this behavior.”

In an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Special Agent Donny Kim says that over the past two years, Frese, who had a Top Secret security clearance, routinely accessed classified intelligence reports — some of which were unrelated to his duties — and gave a journalist information on “a foreign country’s weapons systems.”

According to prosecutors, Frese would search a classified government computer system for terms in a report, and once he found it, he would speak with his girlfriend to tell her what it contained.

About half an hour later, they say, a news article on the topic was published based on the top secret information.

At one point, Frese’s girlfriend asked if he would speak with another journalist. He agreed because he wanted to help advance his girlfriend’s career, the court documents say.

The second journalist also published articles based on the information.

Investigators say they caught Frese through his use of government computer systems and his cellphone.

“Henry Kyle Frese was entrusted with top secret information related to the national defense of our country,” G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“Frese allegedly violated that trust, the oath he swore to uphold, and is charged with engaging in dastardly and felonious conduct at the expense of our country,” Terwilliger added.

The Justice Department has not released the name of the journalists involved or their news outlets.

Asked by a reporter whether the DOJ intended to send a message to journalists, Terwilliger said the message the department wants to send is intended for only one audience.

“The Justice Department is trying to send a message to leakers — that if you leak information and you betray your oath and you unilaterally provide information, you are going to be prosecuted,” he said.

Frese is expected to appear in court on Thursday. If convicted on both counts, he faces a possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

Law

March 25, 2024
by Tom Ramstack
DC Attorney General Warns Sports Teams About Relocating to Virginia

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the city’s latest bid to keep them from relocating to Northern Virginia. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb told Monumental Sports and Entertainment in a letter last week... Read More

March 22, 2024
by Tom Ramstack
Judge Upholds DC Law Giving Noncitizens Voting Rights

WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to... Read More

WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to invalidate a law giving noncitizens a right to vote in local elections. The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act would allow anyone who is a resident... Read More

March 20, 2024
by Tom Ramstack
Trump Wins Right of Appeal to Try to Disqualify Georgia Prosecutor

ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in... Read More

ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in his upcoming criminal trial in Atlanta on charges of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election vote count in Georgia. Trump asked the judge overseeing... Read More

Pro-Trump Michigan Attorney Arrested After Hearing in DC Over Leaking Dominion Documents

An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a... Read More

An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a hearing in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C. Stefanie Lambert was arrested by U.S. Marshals after a hearing over possible sanctions against her... Read More

March 15, 2024
by Dan McCue
Fani Willis Can Continue Case Against Trump With Single Condition, Judge Rules

ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald... Read More

ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald Trump and several others — as long as the prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship steps aside, a judge in Georgia ruled on Friday.... Read More

March 13, 2024
by Tom Ramstack
Georgia Judge Dismisses Some Charges Against Trump

ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020... Read More

ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election won a partial court victory Wednesday. A Georgia judge dismissed six of the 41 charges against the former president and his accused fellow conspirators.... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top