A former CIA analyst admitted in federal court Friday to obtaining and leaking classified information that was later leaked on social media in October, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, pleaded guilty to two counts of knowingly retaining and transmitting classified information related to national defense, according to the Department of Justice. press release. He had worked for the CIA since 2016 and had a top-secret security clearance that gave him access to “fragmented classified information.”
“[O]“On October 17, 2024, Rahman accessed and printed two top secret documents containing national defense information regarding planned actions against foreign allies and foreign enemies of the United States,” the Justice Department wrote, citing court documents. “Lerman deleted the documents, took photos of them, and sent them to individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them.”
According to the Justice Department, the document was published on social media on October 18, still marked as confidential.
The Justice Department did not name the U.S. ally and its foreign enemy in question, but reportedly Israel was the ally and Iran was the foreign enemy. The document was created by the Pentagon’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and contained satellite images and other classified intelligence related to Israel’s plans to attack Iranian sites, according to the New York Times.
Leaks by Los Angeles-born Yale graduate force Israel to postpone planned attack, The Washington Post reported.
this is completely crazy
Asif Rahman, 2013 Yale University graduate
Radical information leaks about Israel’s plan to attack Iran’s missile network
He did this for America’s key allies as a CIA analyst.
There’s something deeply broken about the Ivy League. https://t.co/xmJzGtPbPu
— Sean Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) January 17, 2025
Since October 17, Rahman concealed his thoughts on U.S. policy by deleting and altering diaries and other documents, and lied about his activities in new diary entries, according to the Justice Department. That’s what it means. He also destroyed some electronic equipment used to send documents.
From the spring of 2024 until November 2024, Rahman brought similar documents to his home, where he made copies and altered the documents to “conceal the source and his activities,” according to the press release. . (Related: Federal authorities arrest dual citizen Pentagon employee who flees to other country with classified information)
According to the Justice Department, Mr. Rahman also voluntarily provided confidential information collected in the course of his work and sent that information to multiple unauthorized persons.
Rahman was indicted on November 7, arrested on his way to work on November 12, and has been in custody since then. According to the paper, the FBI arrested him in Cambodia, where he was stationed. new york times. The two classified documents he disseminated were not widespread, officials told the outlet.
“Mr. Rahman’s actions endangered lives, damaged the United States’ foreign relations, and impaired our ability to gather critical intelligence in the future,” said Jessica D. Abar, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. According to a press release.
“Today’s plea confirms that Mr. Asif Rahman betrayed his country’s trust by sharing classified information despite the risks to the United States and our allies,” said FBI National Security Director Robert Wells. “I recognized that,” he said.
The judge is scheduled to sentence Rahman on May 15. Rahman faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the two charges.
