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5h ago

Pentagon Contractor, State Department Adviser Charged After Seizure of More Than 1,000 Classified Pages

Prosecutors cite an FBI affidavit describing printed classified files removed from secure facilities, calling the case a grave threat to national security.

Ashley Tellis in Mumbai, India, on March 15, 2014.
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Aerial view of the US Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Photo: AFP
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Overview

  • Ashley J. Tellis was charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with unlawful retention of national defense information and was ordered detained pending a hearing next week.
  • An October 11 search of his Vienna, Virginia, home recovered over 1,000 pages marked top secret or secret, including materials found in filing cabinets and large trash bags.
  • An FBI affidavit details surveillance of Tellis printing and removing classified records at State Department and Defense Department facilities, including portions of a 1,288‑page file on U.S. Air Force tactics he renamed “Econ Reform.”
  • Court filings describe repeated meetings with Chinese government officials from 2022 to 2025, with discussions overheard on topics like Iranian‑Chinese relations and emerging technologies, while no public evidence shows classified transfers.
  • Tellis is an unpaid State Department adviser, a contractor with the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment; U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan authorized the search and charges and called the allegations a grave risk.