A government contractor for the State and Justice departments who had top security clearance was charged Thursday with assisting a spy for a foreign government.
Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, a naturalized U.S. 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 transmit the material to a foreign intelligence official, according to the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Lemma, who lives in Maryland, has been charged with collecting or delivering national defense information to assist a foreign government; conspiracy to collect or deliver national defense information to assist a foreign government; and having unauthorized possession of national defense information and intentionally retaining it.
He could face the death penalty if convicted of the two espionage charges.
Lemma could face the death penalty if convicted. Yin Yang
Unsealed court documents refer to the nation Lemma was spying on only as the “Relevant Country,” but several media outlets report it was Ethiopia.
“Between December 19, 2022 and August 7, 2023, or around that date, Lemma copied and pasted information from at least 85 intelligence reports on many topics, most of which relate to the relevant country.” , reads the FBI complaint against Lemma.
“Lemma accessed these Intelligence Reports without needing to know the classified information they contain. During the same period, Lemma accessed at least 48 additional intelligence reports without needing to know,” the complaint states.
“According to DOS records, Lemma, on multiple occasions, has also printed and downloaded classified SECRET and TOP SECRET information from Intelligence Reports using the DOS system. The printed and downloaded material primarily related to the relevant country,” the complaint adds.
Lemma worked 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 app to transmit sensitive material to a foreign official associated with Ethiopia’s intelligence service, and that the two discussed the “military activities of a rebel group engaged in an armed struggle against the government of the relevant country.
“In these communications, Lemma expressed interest and willingness to assist the foreign official in providing information,” the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“In a communication, the foreign official stated: ‘[i]It is time to continue our support.” Lemma replied: ‘Understood!’ In another talk, the foreign official praised Lemma’s efforts and stated: “[a]This beautiful country has always [sic] some special people who scarify [sic] your life to protect our proud history. You always remembered it. The results don’t matter.’”
Lemma’s bank records indicate that after traveling to Ethiopia during the course of his illegal intelligence gathering efforts, he also deposited more than $55,000 in various lots at different banks.
Reports indicate that Lemma was sending classified information to Ethiopia.derejeb
The State Department revealed Thursday that Lemma’s alleged unauthorized collection and disclosure of national security secrets was discovered after a “self-initiated 60-day Internal Security Review” implemented after the April arrest of Air National Guardsman Massachusetts, 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 deleted, retained, and transmitted classified national defense information without authorization,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. a statement.
“Going forward, the Department will continue to implement the recommendations of the Homeland Security Review to strengthen the way we provide access to [Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented] information, improve ongoing security monitoring, and protect sensitive information to minimize the risk of similar incidents in the future,” Miller said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn