Intelligence Employee Leaked Top Secret Information to Reporter With Whom He Was Romantically Involved, Feds Say

An employee for the Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested Wednesday on accusations that he disclosed classified information to two journalists, one of whom he had a romantic relationship with, the Justice Department said.

Henry Kyle Frese, 30, of Alexandria, was charged with two counts of willful transmission of national defense information, each carrying a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.

Federal prosecutors say Frese, whose government security clearance allowed him access to top secret and sensitive information, accessed multiple classified intelligence reports and leaked information about a foreign country’s weapons systems to a journalist. Authorities say some of the reports Frese accessed were unrelated to his job duties.

“Frese was caught red-handed disclosing sensitive national security information for personal gain,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement. “Frese betrayed the trust placed in him by the American people – a betrayal that risked harming the national security of this country.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer Defends Democrats’ Decision to Sit During SOTU, After Trump Invited Them to Stand if They Support Americans Over Illegals

Ohio courtroom devolves into chaos after sentencing in death of teen

Fact-checkers challenge Trump’s ‘eight wars’ claim, back him on crime

Democrats’ big misfire at State of the Union has GOP strategists salivating: ‘Huge moment’

Child predator dubbed ‘monster parents fear most’ cleared for release through California parole program

Trump calls for ‘deranged’ Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to be ‘institutionalized’ after State of the Union

Border-State Sen. Mark Kelly is Feeling the Heat After Refusing to Stand for American Citizens Over Illegals

Takeaways from the intense hearing with Trump surgeon general nominee Casey Means

Dem rising star’s SOTU rebuttal ripped by conservatives: ‘Anyone who claims she is a “moderate” is a liar’

Trump’s former Ukraine envoy criticizes US abstention on UN peace vote

WATCH: Fiery Brit Squares Up to Muslim and Savages Islamism to His Face – “Every Inch of This Land Is Mine”

CNN Poll: Majority of Viewers Felt More Optimistic About America’s Future After Watching Trump’s Speech

Trump Excoriates Democrats for Supporting Child Mutilation During SOTU Speech: ‘These People Are Crazy’

Dem Protests to SOTU: Bad Singing, Radical Giraffe Furries, Fake Tears, Pro-Trump Crashers, and Almost Zero Audience

Voters react as Trump calls Dems ‘crazy’ for not applauding ban on secret teen gender transitions

The unauthorized disclosures to the two reporters happened in 2018 and 2019. Prior to that, from August 2017 to August 2018, Frese and one of the reporters lived together and appeared to have been involved in a romantic relationship, authorities say. They did not name the two journalists involved and did not say what their media affiliations were.

In April 2018, after Frese accessed one of the intelligence reports, the journalist asked if he’d be willing to speak with another reporter, prosecutors say. Frese then said he was “down” to help the second journalist — a colleague at an affiliated but different news outlet, authorities say.

The journalist whom authorities believe had a relationship with Frese published six articles related to information that Frese leaked, authorities say.

Federal authorities said Frese was “captured” last month on court-authorized surveillance of his cell phone orally transmitting classified national defense information to the second journalist

“Henry Kyle Frese was entrusted with top secret information related to the national defense of our country,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney in Alexandria, Va. “Frese allegedly violated that trust, the oath he swore to uphold, and is charged with engaging in dastardly and felonious conduct at the expense of our country. This indictment should serve as a clear reminder to all of those similarly entrusted with National Defense Information that unilaterally disclosing such information for personal gain, or that of others, is not selfless or heroic, it is criminal.”