Ashley Tellis was arrested on Oct 11 and charged by criminal complaint with the unlawful retention of national defense information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e).
Tellis has held top-level security clearance since 2001. He served as an unpaid senior adviser at the State Department and as a contractor with the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment.
He is also a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a regular participant in policy panels both in the US and abroad.
In his role at the Office of Net Assessment, he was considered a subject-matter expert on India and South Asian affairs.
Tellis began working for the State Department in 2001.
During a search of his residence in Vienna, Virginia, on Oct 11, authorities recovered more than a thousand pages of documents marked “TOP SECRET” and “SECRET”.
Surveillance footage captured Tellis multiple times in recent weeks accessing, printing and removing classified materials from government facilities.
On Sep 12, cameras at the Pentagon’s Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, showed Tellis directing a colleague to print several classified documents, including one labelled “Top Secret”. Investigators later found two file folders labeled “Tellis” in the cubicle he used, as well as top secret documents printed by his colleague earlier that day.
On Sep 25, Tellis entered the State Department’s Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, D.C., and logged onto a “secret-level computer system” before leaving an hour later. He returned to the building later that day, this time carrying a leather briefcase. He proceeded to log onto the computer system and opened a 1,288-page document referring to US Air Force tactics, techniques and procedures. He then opened the print window but canceled out without printing. Tellis re-saved the document, changing the file name to ‘Econ Reform.’ Tellis reopened the print window and entered ’59-172’ in the ‘pages’ window. Tellis proceeded to print a portion of the file which was deleted afterwards, as well as another document classified as secret pertaining to US Air Force Weapons School military aircraft capabilities.
On Oct 10, surveillance footage from a secure compartmented information facility at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, shows Tellis concealing classified documents — including material marked top secret — inside notepads before placing them in his leather briefcase and leaving the facility.
Tellis has met with government officials several times over the past few years.
On Sep 15, 2022, he met officials at a restaurant in Virginia. He entered the restaurant with a manila envelope which did not appear to be in his possession when he departed.
During another meeting on Apr 11, 2023, Tellis and officials were heard discussing Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies over dinner in a Washington, DC, suburb.
At their most recent encounter, on Sep 2, 2025, officials gave him a “red gift bag” near the end of a dinner meeting in Fairfax, Virginia.
Tellis made his initial court appearance on Oct 14. A detention hearing is scheduled for Oct 21.
If convicted, Tellis faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
https://justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/vienna-man-arrested-charged-unlawfully-retaining-national-defense-information…https://foxnews.com/us/state-department-employee-allegedly-removed-classified-docs-met-chinese-officials.amp…https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3329035/us-national-security-expert-arrested-over-classified-files-china-ties-probed…https://newsweek.com/state-dept-employee-allegedly-took-top-secret-docs-met-chinese-officials-10879344…
Ashley Tellis was arrested on Oct 11 and charged by criminal complaint with the unlawful retention of national defense information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e).
Tellis has held top-level security clearance since 2001. He served as an unpaid senior adviser at the State Department and as a contractor with the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment.
He is also a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a regular participant in policy panels both in the US and abroad.
In his role at the Office of Net Assessment, he was considered a subject-matter expert on India and South Asian affairs.
Tellis began working for the State Department in 2001.
During a search of his residence in Vienna, Virginia, on Oct 11, authorities recovered more than a thousand pages of documents marked “TOP SECRET” and “SECRET”.
Surveillance footage captured Tellis multiple times in recent weeks accessing, printing and removing classified materials from government facilities.
On Sep 12, cameras at the Pentagon’s Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, showed Tellis directing a colleague to print several classified documents, including one labelled “Top Secret”. Investigators later found two file folders labeled “Tellis” in the cubicle he used, as well as top secret documents printed by his colleague earlier that day.
On Sep 25, Tellis entered the State Department’s Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, D.C., and logged onto a “secret-level computer system” before leaving an hour later. He returned to the building later that day, this time carrying a leather briefcase. He proceeded to log onto the computer system and opened a 1,288-page document referring to US Air Force tactics, techniques and procedures. He then opened the print window but canceled out without printing. Tellis re-saved the document, changing the file name to ‘Econ Reform.’ Tellis reopened the print window and entered ’59-172’ in the ‘pages’ window. Tellis proceeded to print a portion of the file which was deleted afterwards, as well as another document classified as secret pertaining to US Air Force Weapons School military aircraft capabilities.
On Oct 10, surveillance footage from a secure compartmented information facility at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, shows Tellis concealing classified documents — including material marked top secret — inside notepads before placing them in his leather briefcase and leaving the facility.
Tellis has met with 
government officials several times over the past few years.
On Sep 15, 2022, he met 