A U.S. Air Force civilian was charged Monday with sharing classified information related to the Russia-Ukraine war on a foreign online dating site.
of indictment David Franklin Slater, 63, is alleged to have sent National Defense Information (NDI) about the Ukraine war to an unidentified female co-conspirator through foreign online dating platforms and email. . He was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of transmitting and conspiring to transmit classified information.
According to the indictment, Slater was a civilian assigned to U.S. Strategic Command in the District of Nebraska and was attending a top-secret war briefing. According to the indictment, Mr. Slater retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel on or about December 31, 2020, and served in a classified space for U.S. Strategic Command from August 2021 to April 2022.
Prosecutors allege that Slater sent confidential information to a woman living in Ukraine between February 2022 and April 2022, despite signing a non-disclosure agreement related to the confidential information. There is.
In messages exchanged on the platform, the co-conspirators allegedly referred to Slater as “my secret agent lover” and her “secret agent,” according to the indictment. Her indictment says the woman asked for more information and she also told him, “Thank you for the valuable information.”
The information he allegedly sent her included information about military targets and Russian military capabilities related to the invasion of Ukraine.
Matthew G. Olsen, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said Slater’s actions were “a blatant disregard for his oath to protect the nation’s security and secrets.” in a statement.
“The Department of Justice intends to hold accountable those who knowingly and knowingly put our country at risk by disclosing classified information,” Olsen said.
Slater is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday in the District of Nebraska, according to the Department of Justice.
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