A former United States intelligence officer was charged for stealing and sharing top-secret documents.
Asif Rahman, from Vienna, Virginia, admitted to taking and sharing a number of classified documents with a third party who was not cleared to view them. He faces up 10 years in prison for two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information.
According to his plea deal, the 34 year-old Rahman admits that over the span of several months ending in November of last year, he used his top secret clearance with the CIA to access, photograph, and then release images of classified documents relating to intelligence operations the agency was running along with another country.
The images of the documents and their contents were then handed off to another party that was not cleared to view them. Eventually, the images would end up being posted online, thwarting the ongoing operation.
“Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” said Matthew Olsen, Assistant Attorney General with the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets.”
While it is said that he was taking the documents over the span of several months, Rahman was charged for one day in particular, Oct. 17, 2024. Rahman admitted on that day he took photographs of two specific documents that would later be handed off to an unauthorized recipient. The documents would be posted online the next day.
He then tried to cover his tracks by editing or deleting journal entries in which he expressed his motivations and attempted to destroy both a mobile device and a router containing incriminating evidence.
“Asif Rahman is pleading guilty in federal court three months to the day that he disclosed top secret American documents in violation of his oath, his responsibility, and the law,” said Jessica Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia where Rahman was tried.
“This district, in partnership with federal law enforcement and the intelligence community, exemplified dedication, skill, and speed to bring him to justice expeditiously. Mr. Rahman’s actions placed lives at risk, undermined U.S. foreign relations, and compromised our ability to collect vital intelligence in the future.”
While he could face 10 years on each of the charges, taking a plea deal means Rahman will likely be sentenced to less than half of that.
