A former Pentagon contractor and State Department adviser, Ashley Tellis, has been arrested on charges of unlawfully retaining national defense information. Court records reveal that Tellis, an expert in South Asian affairs, allegedly accessed and removed classified documents pertaining to U.S. Air Force tactics and techniques. An FBI affidavit, unsealed Tuesday, details that Tellis engaged in multiple meetings with Chinese government officials over several years. These encounters included a dinner in April 2023, where he was reportedly overheard discussing sensitive topics like Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Tellis, who serves as an unpaid advisor to the State Department and works for the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment (ONA), a unit focused on future security threats, is accused of handing over critical information. During one meeting in a Washington D.C. suburb, he was observed carrying a manila envelope, which he did not seem to take back. The charges against him carry a potential sentence of up to ten years imprisonment and significant fines. Prosecutors emphasized the grave risk such alleged actions pose to national security.
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