State Department Employee Accused of Leaking Classified Information to China

VIENNA, Va. — A U.S. State Department employee, Ashley Tellis, faces serious allegations of mishandling classified documents and meeting with Chinese officials. According to court documents, Tellis is accused of unlawfully retaining national defense information.

Tellis, who started working with the State Department in 2001, is also a contractor with the Department of Defense’s Office of Net Assessment. He held a top-secret security clearance that allowed him access to sensitive information regarding U.S. national defense, officials said.

During a recent search of his home in Vienna, authorities discovered more than a thousand pages of documents marked “TOP SECRET” and “SECRET.” Federal prosecutors claim he directed a coworker at a government facility to print multiple classified documents for him on September 12, 2023.

In the following weeks, Tellis allegedly printed documents related to U.S. military aircraft capabilities. Prosecutors further allege that he held meetings with Chinese government officials multiple times over the years, raising concerns about national security.

On September 2, 2022, prosecutors stated that he met with Chinese officials at a Virginia restaurant while carrying a manila envelope. On April 11, 2023, Tellis was reportedly overheard discussing Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies during another dinner with these officials.

Tellis’s expertise in India and South Asian affairs, as noted by his position at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has raised questions about the potential implications of these actions on U.S. foreign relations.

The State Department, Department of Defense, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace have all been contacted for further comments regarding the matter.

This situation continues to develop as authorities investigate further. More updates are expected in the coming days.