A former soldier shared confidential information with a contact on a dating website.
Article information
author, Max Matza
stock, BBC News
A retired US Army colonel in Nebraska has been accused of sharing confidential information through an international dating portal.
David Franklin Slater, 63, United States Strategic Command until 2022 (Stratcom), which oversees the country's nuclear missile arsenal.
Slater was arrested last Saturday, March 2.
Authorities said he illegally sent documents “damaging to the United States.”
The charging filing notes that Slater passed on the information he received in classified Stratcom briefings Russian invasion of UkraineTo a man he believed he was a woman in Ukraine.
Prosecutors said he frequently asked her in news exchanges about US national security secrets.
“Dear, what is shown on the screens in the special room? “This is very interesting,” said one message sent on March 11, 2022.
“You are my secret agent. With love,” said the contact on March 23 of the same year after requesting information about a specific country.
However, investigators have redacted the country's name from court documents.
“My dear Dave, thank you for the valuable information. You are the announcer of my secret love!In other news, the contact said.
The documents did not specify who Slater spoke with or the name of the dating portal.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
image source, Good pictures
title,
Slater attended classified Stratcom briefings on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Delegate responsibilities
“Certain responsibilities apply to individuals who have access to top-secret information,” said Susan Lehr, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska.
“The allegations against Slater lead us to question whether he betrayed those responsibilities.”
Retired army man alleged one count of conspiracy and two counts of unauthorized disclosure of national security information. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
It is unclear whether he has hired a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
The indictment was announced hours after U.S. Airman Jack Teixeira of the Massachusetts Air National Guard pleaded guilty to six counts of illegally retaining and transmitting national security information.
Teixeira faces up to 16 years in prison.
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