Media reports say retired US Army officer has been charged with sharing classified information on a foreign dating website after prosecutors say he sent sensitive information about Russia’s war in Ukraine to a person who claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine.
CBS News reports that according to charging documents, a retired US Army Lieutenant-Colonel was arrested on March 2 and accused of illegally disclosing sensitive national defense information on a foreign dating site.
Court filings reportedly said David Franklin Slater, 63 — who most recently worked as a civilian Air Force employee assigned to United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) — allegedly communicated with an unnamed person claiming to be a woman living in Ukraine and sent the individual secret Pentagon documents about Russia's war in that country.
According to axios.com, prosecutors said Slater was working in a classified space at USSTRATCOM's Offutt Air Force Base and held a top secret security clearance during the exchanges with the woman, who allegedly called him in emails and on the dating site's messaging platform her “secret informant love,” “Sweet Dave,” and “secret agent.”
STRATCOM is the U.S. military combatant command responsible for nuclear deterrence and nuclear command and control and is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. While working at STRATCOM, Slater had a Top Secret Security clearance, according to the filings, and received training for the proper handling of sensitive government information.
After retiring from the army in 2020, prosecutors said Slater started working for STRATCOM in August 2021, where he attended top secret briefings about the war in Ukraine. STRATCOM confirmed he was an employee in its Directorate of Logistics until 2022.
CNN reports that prosecutors say Slater’s co-conspirator sent him a message around March 11, 2022, asking, “Dear, what is shown on the screens in the special room?? It is very interesting.”
Less than a week later, according to the indictment, the co-conspirator reportedly sent another message saying, “You are my secret informant love! How were your meetings? Successfully?”
The co-conspirator reportedly sent messages for nearly two months, according to the indictment, repeatedly probing Slater for more classified information. In April 2022, prosecutors say Slater received a message that said, “You have a job in the Operations Center today, I remember, I’m sure there is a lot of interesting news there?”
In response to these messages, Slater shared classified information about military targets in Russia’s war against Ukraine and Russian military capabilities relating to the invasion, according to CNN.
CBS News says the charges against Slater were announced hours after a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard admitted he had violated the Espionage Act when he posted highly classified government documents — some about the war in Ukraine — on a gaming platform.
Slater reportedly faces one count of conspiracy and two counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison plus three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to US$250,000 for each count.
