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.”

MIT professor killed in shooting at Massachusetts home; police say no suspect in custody

Suspect arrested after Walmart customers report finding hidden razor blades in purchased bread

Border Patrol commander returns to Chicago as agents deploy pepper balls in immigrant neighborhood

SEE IT: Florida teen Anna Kepner captured on video dancing at cruise sail away party before mysterious death

Pope Leo to appoint Bishop Ron Hicks as New York archbishop replacing Cardinal Dolan: source

‘Older’ Brown building where shooting happened had no cameras as president’s even older home appears equipped

HHS probes Minnesota’s use of billions in federal social service funds amid fraud concerns: report

Breaking: Trump Orders ‘Largest Armada Ever Assembled in the History of South America’ to Blockade Venezuela

Trump declares ‘Venezuelan regime’ a foreign terrorist organization, orders oil tanker blockade

Watch: Brawl Erupts in Mexico City Congress as Female Lawmakers Push, Slap, Yank Hair

GOP poised to overtake Democrats on voter rolls in key swing state after years of Dem dominance

Fox News Politics Newsletter: Dems push DOJ to reveal hidden Jack Smith report as GOP readies deposition

Report: At Least 2 of the 5 Leftist New Year’s Eve Bombing Suspects Are Transgender

Rob Reiner’s son Nick charged with two counts of first-degree murder in parents’ stabbing deaths

Trump expands travel ban to hit 5 countries with sweeping new restrictions, citing security concerns

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.”