CIA official with top security clearance charged for leaking highly classified docs about Israel’s plans to strike Iran
A CIA official has been charged with leaking highly classified US documents about Israel’s potential plan to strike back against Iran over a missile attack.
Asif W. Rahman, who worked overseas for the agency and held a top secret security clearance, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia on Tuesday over the leaks, the New York Times reported.
The official was charged with leaking highly classified documents about Israel’s plans to strike Iran.
At the time, the Middle East Spectator said it had received the documents through an anonymous source — and that it had no connection to the original leaker, nor could it verify the authenticity of the documents.
The FBI had revealed last month that it was probing the source of the leak, saying at the time it was “working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and intelligence community.”
The indictment doesn’t provide exact details on the nature of the leak but says it occurred on or around Oct. 17.
The intelligence described in the documents was based on satellite imagery taken from Oct. 15-16.
Investigators believe the leak took place in Cambodia, according to court papers.
Rahman’s clearance with the CIA meant he had access to sensitive compartmentalized information, which is typical of employees who handle classified materials.
More than one million people have access to top secret materials in the US, according to the latest available figures from 2017. An additional 1.6 million also have access to either information regarded as confidential or secret, data shows.
Once doled out, security clearances are reviewed constantly in a process officials describe as a “continuous vetting,” meant to ensure that any new threats a cleared employee presents are caught swiftly.
The process, which was overhauled by the Defense Department about two years ago, involves regularly reviewing a cleared individual’s background to ensure they continue to meet security clearance requirements.
Rahman, who is being brought to a federal court in Guam to face the charges, is charged with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.
After his initial court hearing, he is set to be transferred to stand trial in the Eastern District of Virginia.
With Post wires
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