A U.S. Air Force employee is now facing charges for divulging classified information about Russia's conflict with Ukraine on a dating site.
According to the Department of Justice, David Franklin Slater, 63, was stationed at the U.S. Strategic Command in Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and had a “Top Secret security clearance,” which he used to illegally share National Defense Information with a woman on a foreign dating website.
“As alleged, Mr. Slater, an Air Force civilian employee and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, knowingly transmitted classified national defense information to another person in blatant disregard for the security of his country and his oath to safeguard its secrets,” DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said in a press release. “The Department of Justice will seek to hold accountable those who knowingly and willfully put their country at risk by disclosing classified information.”
The DOJ says that Slater shared classified details that he learned in briefings about military targets and Russian capabilities related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with a woman living in Ukraine who regularly asked him for sensitive military intel, calling Slater her "secret informant love" and "secret agent." The DOJ states Slater had reason to believe the intel he shared could harm the U.S. or help a foreign country.
“The FBI investigates those who choose to illegally use their access to classified information to put our national security at risk,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said in the press release. “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.”
Slater was arrested on Mar. 2, and if convicted, he could get up to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of probation, and a fine of $250,000 for each charge of sharing classified information.
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