A government contractor with the State and Justice departments who has the highest security clearance was charged Thursday with aiding a foreign government spy.
Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, a naturalized US citizen from Ethiopia, is accused of using his positions as an IT administrator for the State Department and a management analyst for the Justice Department to copy classified national defense information from intelligence reports and send the material to foreign intelligence officials, according to the DC US Attorney’s Office .
Lemma, who lives in Maryland, has been charged with collecting or communicating national defense information to assist a foreign government; conspiracy to collect or communicate national defense information to assist a foreign government; and possessing unauthorized possession of national defense information and knowingly retaining it.
He could face the death penalty if convicted on two counts of espionage.
Lemma could face the death penalty if convicted. YinYang
The unsealed court filing referred to the country Lemma spied on only as a “Related Country”, but several outlets reported that it was Ethiopia.
“Between on or about December 19, 2022 and August 7, 2023, Lemma copied and pasted information from at least 85 Intelligence Reports on numerous topics — the majority of which related to Related Countries,” reads the FBI’s complaint against Lemma.
“Lemma accesses this Intelligence Report without needing to know the confidential information contained therein. During the same period, Lemma accessed at least 48 additional Intelligence Reports without his knowledge,” the complaint said.
“According to DOS records, Lemma has, on several occasions, also printed and downloaded classified SECRET and TOP SECRET information from Intelligence Reports using the DOS system. The printed and downloaded material is mainly related to the Relevant Country,” the complaint added.
Lemma works as an IT administrator as a contractor for the State Department.Kiyoshi Tanno
It is further alleged that the accused spy used an encrypted messaging application to send sensitive material to foreign officials linked to the Ethiopian intelligence service, and that the two discussed “the military activities of rebel groups engaged in armed struggle against the governments of Related States.”
“In this communication, Lemma expressed an interest and willingness to assist the foreign official in providing information,” the DC US Attorney’s Office said.
“In one communication, the foreign official stated, ‘[i]it’s time to continue your support.’ Lemma replied, ‘Roger that!’ In another chat, the foreign official praised Lemma’s efforts, stating ‘[a]lways this beautiful country has [sic] some special scary people [sic] their lives to protect our proud history. You always remember. No matter the outcome.’”
Lemma’s bank records show that after traveling to Ethiopia during his illegal intelligence gathering efforts, he also deposited more than $55,000 in batches into different banks.
Reports indicate that Lemma sent classified information to Ethiopia.derejeb
The State Department revealed Thursday that Lemma’s alleged unauthorized gathering and disclosure of national security secrets were discovered after a “self-initiated 60-day Homeland Security Review” was implemented following the April arrest of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixiera for allegedly leaking classified defense documents online.
“During this review, information was discovered indicating that a State Department information technology contractor may have removed, retained and transmitted classified national defense information without authorization,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“Moving forward, the Department will continue to implement recommendations from the Homeland Security Review to strengthen the way we provide access to [Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented] information, enhance continuous security monitoring, and protect sensitive information to minimize the risk of similar incidents in the future,” said Miller.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
