ArrowRight Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, of Silver Spring, Md., was charged in an Aug. 23 complaint unsealed Thursday on three counts: conspiracy; gathering or delivering national defense information to aid a foreign government; and unauthorized possession and willful retention of national defense information, Justice Department and FBI officials said. Charging papers did not name Ethiopia, but accused Lemma of spying for a country where he was previously a citizen, had family ties and had recently visited. The State Department’s intelligence bureau discovered the leaks after an internal security review prompted by the disclosure of hundreds of classified documents earlier this year. Advertisement“During this review, information was uncovered indicating that a Department of State information technology contractor may have removed, retained, and transmitted classified national defense information without authorization,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. AdvertisementMost recently, on Aug. 18, State Department records indicate Lemma completed approximately 10 downloads, most of which were classified at the top-secret or secret level.

Source: Ethiopian News September 21, 2023 20:35 UTC