A counterterrorism analyst has been charged with leaking top-secret information to two journalists.
The Washington Post reported that Henry Kyle Frese, 30, of Alexandria, Va., an analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, leaked top-secret information about the weapons systems of foreign countries to two journalists. Frese was apparently romantically involved with one of the reporters.
According to the Post, the man’s “alleged motive apparently was to advance the career of the female reporter with whom he had a relationship, the FBI said in a court affidavit. Frese allegedly passed additional top-secret information to one of the woman’s colleagues at ‘an affiliated but different news outlet.' Although authorities Wednesday withheld the names of the two journalists, the affidavit and indictment describe Twitter messages and online articles that offer a road map to their identities. The reporters appear to be Amanda Macias of CNBC and Courtney Kube of MSNBC, both of whom cover national security."
CNBC reported that one of the journalists who received top-secret information from Frese wrote at least eight articles based on the sensitive information. Frese is charged with two counts of willful transmission of national defense information.
The Justice Department told CNBC, “the unauthorized disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to cause serious harm to the national security of the United States.”
If convicted, Frese faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for each of his two counts.