Renowned Indian-Origin US Defence Expert Ashley Tellis Arrested Over Secret Documents

According to the United States Attorney Office East District of Virginia, Ashley J Tellis, an Indian-origin senior US adviser with a reputation on India and South Asian affairs, has been arrested in the United States on allegations of possession of classified information on national defence which is illegal. This was announced on October 14.

Tellis is a 64 year old resident of Vienna, Virginia, and a long time US national security veteran. He has also worked in the National Security Council in the previous Republican President George W Bush and joined the State Department in 2001 as an unpaid senior adviser. He is also contracted with the Office of Net Assessment in the Department of Defense which was recently renamed the Department of War.

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He has been reported as an expert on India and South Asian affairs in the subject matter, as reported by Fox News.

Tellis is also a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace, a Washington-based think tank besides working in government. According to The Associated Press (AP) he is also Tata Chair of Strategic Affairs.

According to the case, US Attorney Lindsey Halligan termed the case to be a gross violation of national security. We are completely geared towards safeguarding the American people against every threat, both foreign and not. According to a press release, Halligan said that the charges as alleged in this case constitute a serious threat to the safety and security of our citizens.

In case of conviction, Tellis is exposed to a sentence of 10 years in prison, up to 250,000 fines, a 100 special assessment and forfeiture.

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The FBI affidavit quoted by Reuters and Fox News revealed that Tellis had a Top Secret security clearance and had access to Sensitive Compartmented Information. He purportedly broke into Defense and State Department buildings in September and October this year and gained access and printed secret documents, such as military aircraft capabilities, and exited the premises carrying a leather bag or briefcase.

The police claimed that during a search of his house at Vienna, Virginia, they found over a thousand pages of top secret material that had the label of TOP SECRET and Secret. On September 12, Fox News notes that Tellis called a colleague to print him several classified documents and on September 25 he is said to have printed US Air Force papers on military aircraft abilities.

Court records also suggest that Tellis had several meetings with the Chinese government officials in the past years.

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