Senior State Department Adviser Arrested, Accused of Taking Top Secret Docs, Meeting with Chinese
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A senior adviser to the U.S. State Department has been arrested and accused of taking thousands of top-secret documents and meeting with Chinese officials, according to court documents filed by the Department of Justice on Oct. 13.
The accusations date back to 2022, according to court documents obtained by The Epoch Times.
Senior adviser Ashley Tellis was arrested Oct. 11 and accused of unlawful retention of national defense information, according to the affidavit filed in the District Court of Eastern District of Virginia.
Tellis held a top-secret clearance and had access to sensitive information, which he allegedly used to secure classified documents. Prosecutors detailed in court documents instances when they say Tellis downloaded and saved sensitive documents about U.S. fighter aircraft and weapons capabilities.
Investigators who searched his Vienna, Virginia, home claim they uncovered more than a thousand pages of documents marked “TOP SECRET” and “SECRET.”
A federal court issued a search warrant Oct. 11 authorizing authorities to search Tellis’s house, his vehicle, and his person. The searches were conducted on the same day, according to prosecutors.
The documents were found in a locked filing cabinet inside a basement closet, another locked filing cabinet in the basement home office area, around a desk in the home office area, and in three large black trash bags in an unfinished basement storage room, prosecutors reported.
A federal agent said he believed the home office area was used by Tellis. A laptop on the desk was unlocked during the search using Tellis’s fingerprint.
Tellis also showed investigators where to find the keys they used to open the two locked filing cabinets, according to court documents.
Tellis specialized in international security, defense, and Asian strategic issues. He started working for the State Department in 2001 and served on the National Security Council staff as special assistant to President George W. Bush.
According to prosecutors, Tellis had a coworker at a government facility print classified documents for him on Sept. 12. About two weeks later, he allegedly printed U.S. Air Force documents about military aircraft capabilities.
Authorities say Tellis also met with Chinese regime officials multiple times over the past few years.
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In September 2022, Tellis allegedly met with Chinese officials at a Virginia restaurant while holding a manila envelope, according to court documents.
During a meeting on April 11, 2023, Tellis and Chinese officials discussed Iranian–Chinese relations and emerging technologies, prosecutors claimed.
He also allegedly received a red gift bag at a Sept. 2 meeting with Chinese officials, according to court documents.
Tellis also had scheduled to travel to Rome, Italy, for work on Oct. 11 and expected to return Oct. 27, according to prosecutors.
Most recently, Tellis criticized President Donald Trump’s tariff program in India, saying it could plunge relations into a crisis and unravel “a quarter century of hard-won gains with India.”
As a State Department adviser, Tellis served as a key negotiator on India’s nuclear deal.
Tellis was not available for comment. An autoreply message from Tellis indicated he would be away from his office until Oct. 28.
The State Department did not immediately return requests for comment.
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