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.”

Luxury real estate brothers sentenced to 30 years in prison for yearslong sex-trafficking scheme

Jordanian Military Goes After Targets in Syria in Response to Terrorists Killing Christians

‘Beloved’ daredevils who scaled Empire State Building inching toward deal after proposal stunt: attorney

DHS Shuts Down Major Chinese Birth Tourism Loophole in US Pacific Territory

175 Democrats demand Trump admin stop Ilhan Omar investigation, warn it could hurt her re-election bid

Shouting match erupts at UN as Cuban foreign minister moves toward US ambassador’s podium: ‘Back up!’

Trump administration ‘monitoring’ leftist organizers ignoring new terrorism sanctions: State Department official

90 Percent of Largest United Methodist Church Congregation Votes to Leave Denomination – But It Won’t Be Easy

Hundreds of staged armed robberies helped thousands pose as crime victims in US immigration scam: DOJ

The Thing That Never Happens: DOJ Says Hundreds of Foreigners Voted in Multiple US Elections

House report says NYC prosecutors tailored plea deals to shield illegal immigrants from deportation

Norway and Finland break norms by phoning Putin directly to urge breakthroughs at trilateral talks

Multi-state manhunt underway as murder victim’s close friend fears escaped killer could strike again

FBI raids Beverly Hills mansion as part of Eric Swalwell investigation

WNBA Players Run Off the Court Again Before National Anthem Ahead of Monday Finals Game

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.”