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.”

Catholic schools, banned rifles and ‘climate lawfare’: Blockbuster fights await Supreme Court

Green New Deal Lovers Beware: Senate Deal Would Cut the Six-Year Stall on Pipelines and Gas Plants to 150 Days

WATCH: GOP senators skeptical of Bill Gates’ ‘fearmongering’ AI warning as Dems sound alarm

Democrat, Leftist Ties to Suspected Serial Killer, Violent Pornographer Emerge as House of Horrors Case Grows

Wall Street has a new rival, and it’s deep in the heart of this southern state

AI is supercharging political ad wars. But viral doesn’t mean victorious

Shark bites fisherman twice during kayaking encounter along California beach

Mass shooting at Georgia block party leaves 2 dead, 35 injured

Attorney for accused Cornell student calls on Letitia James to step aside over prior comments

California realtor nabbed at LAX in alleged China spy case targeting Taiwan president’s relative

Florida Man Pleads Guilty in $500,000,000 COVID Test Fraud Scheme

Map Exposes Flocks Surprisingly Massive Network of 300K Surveillance Cameras – They’re Trying to Scrub it

Why the 2A Exists: Strict Gun Laws Fail to Stop South African Slaughter by Gunmen With AK-47s

Trump DOT Kills Biden’s Fuel Rules to Drop New Car Prices by Over $1K

Florida TikTok creator lands in jail after allegedly turning women’s private data into posts

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.”