DOJ Charges US Government Employee in Israel Military Documents Leak

Last updated on November 14th, 2024 at 10:48 am

The Department of Justice has brought charges against a U.S. government employee for the October leak of classified U.S. military records discussing Israeli plans to attack Iran.

Charging documents, obtained by FreeBase News, show the DOJ has identified Asif William Rahman as the suspected leaker. Federal prosecutors have, so far, charged Rahman with two counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information.

The charging documents identify Rahman as a U.S. government employee with a TOP SECRET//Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance.

The court records indicate the FBI arrested Rahman in Cambodia on Nov. 12. The New York Times reported Rahman worked abroad on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, but the available court records don’t clearly describe the nature of his U.S. government employment.

Rahman is set to face an initial court hearing in Guam, with prosecutors seeking to transfer his case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The document leaks were first published by a social media channel called Middle East Spectator on Oct. 19.

The leaks came after Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles at targets across Israel on Oct. 1. At the time of the leaks, Israel had vowed to take retaliatory actions, but had yet to act.

The leaked documents included U.S. military assessments describing heightened Israeli movements of air-launched ballistic missiles, as well as covert drone surveillance operations. The U.S. documents said these Israeli military operations were “almost certainly” part of the preparations for Israel to strike Iran.

Despite the Oct. 19 leak, the Israeli military did manage to conduct a set of retaliatory airstrikes across Iran on Oct. 26.

The Israeli Air Force announced all of its aircraft returned to their bases after conducting the strikes.

The Israeli Air Force said they targeted Iranian missile production facilities and air-defense arrays. At least four Iranian troops died in the Oct. 26 strikes.