The Justice Department announced on Monday that a U.S. Air Force civilian employee has been charged with the unauthorized disclosure of highly classified defense information. The individual, identified as David Franklin Slater, 63, finds himself at the center of a breach involving sensitive details about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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Slater, who was apprehended Friday following a three-count federal indictment, is accused of transmitting classified material through emails and online messages. Remarkably, the indictment outlines that Slater shared sensitive information with someone he believed was a woman residing in Ukraine, encountered through a foreign online dating platform. This person, affectionately referring to Slater as her “secret agent” and “secret informant love,” remains unnamed in the indictment as reported by Reuters.
“The co-conspirator regularly asked Slater to provide her with sensitive, non-public, closely held and classified NDI and called Slater in their messages her “secret informant love” and her “secret agent.” In response to these requests, Slater indeed provided classified NDI to her, including regarding military targets and Russian military capabilities relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the Justice Department said in a press release.
Before his second career as a civilian employee with the Air Force, Slater retired as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, showcasing a distinguished military career. His assignment at U.S. Strategic Command, at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, positioned him in a sensitive role with access to critical defense information. The gravity of Slater’s alleged actions is reflected in the severe penalties he faces if convicted. Each of the three counts in the indictment carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.
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However, the case is under investigation by the FBI Omaha Field Office and Air Force Office of Special Investigation. Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said Slater’s actions were investigated because of the illegal disclosure of classified information.
“The FBI investigates those who choose to illegally use their access to classified information to put our national security at risk. When people violate the trust given to them to safeguard our nation’s intelligence, they put our country at risk. We will continue working shoulder to shoulder with our partners to protect the American people and uphold the constitution by safeguarding our country’s classified information.”
Social media also reacted to the case and said Slater’s alleged need to date led to him facing federal charges.