WASHINGTON (AP) – A senior State Department adviser and expert on Indian and Southern affairs has been accused by the Justice Department of printing classified documents and storing more than 1,000 pages of highly classified government records in filing cabinets and trash bags at his home.
Ashley Tellis, who also worked as a contractor for the Department of Defense’s Internet Ratings Agency, was charged in federal court in Virginia with unlawful possession of national defense information after FBI agents who searched her home over the weekend found a trove of records marked classified and classified at the classified and top-secret level.
He was ordered into custody on Tuesday and will be held pending a detention hearing next week. One of his attorneys, Deborah Curtis, told The Associated Press that she “looks forward to a hearing where we can present evidence,” but declined to comment further.
The FBI affidavit cited several instances in the last month in which Tellis allegedly printed classified documents on government computers or asked colleagues to print them, including on the capabilities of U.S. military aircraft. On several occasions, he was seen on surveillance video leaving the State Department and Pentagon facilities carrying a briefcase in which he appeared to have hidden documents he had printed out, according to court documents.
I also met Terris several times. Chinese government official In recent years, according to the affidavit. According to the FBI, Mr. Tellis arrived at a dinner in 2022 with a manila folder, while the Chinese officials he was meeting with entered with bags of gifts. The affidavit does not accuse him of providing confidential information during these meetings.
Tellis is a prominent foreign policy expert specializing in Indian and South Asian issues. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace lists him as a Senior Fellow and Tata Chair of Strategic Affairs. He also served on the White House National Security Council staff under Republican presidents. George W. Bush.
