WASHINGTON, Oct 15 — Ashley Tellis, a leading US-India relations expert and former National Security Council official, has been arrested and charged with unlawful retention of national defence information after authorities allegedly found more than 1,000 pages of classified documents — marked top secret and secret — at his home in Virginia, according to court filings made public on Tuesday.
Tellis, 64, who served in the administration of former US President George W. Bush and currently works as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was taken into custody over the weekend and charged on Monday.
The Justice Department said that if convicted, Tellis faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. “The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens,” said Lindsey Halligan, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to an FBI affidavit filed in court, Tellis — identified as an unpaid adviser to the State Department and a Pentagon contractor — was seen in September and October entering both Defence and State Department buildings, accessing and printing classified documents related to US military aircraft capabilities, and later leaving with a leather briefcase or bag.
A subsequent search of his Vienna, Virginia residence on Saturday led investigators to recover more than a thousand classified documents. The affidavit further alleged that Tellis had multiple meetings with Chinese government officials in recent years, including a September 15 dinner in Fairfax, Virginia, where he arrived carrying a manila envelope that he no longer had upon leaving the restaurant.
Officials from the State Department confirmed Tellis’s arrest but declined further comment, while a Pentagon spokesperson said it does not comment on ongoing legal matters. Carnegie Endowment did not immediately respond, and Tellis could not be reached for comment. His legal representation remains unknown.
The affidavit noted that Tellis held a top secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information due to his prior government work.
The case marks one of the most high-profile prosecutions involving classified material in recent years, amid growing scrutiny over national security breaches and foreign influence risks.
