According to federal prosecutors, a State Department contractor named Abraham T. Lemma stole classified documents containing sensitive information, including satellite imagery, about military activities in Africa. The criminal complaint was unsealed on Thursday as reported by The New York Times. Lemma, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Ethiopian descent from Silver Spring, Md., has been charged with two counts of espionage and willful retention of national defense information. These charges carry severe penalties, including a potential death sentence and life imprisonment, according to the Justice Department.
The incident comes in the wake of previous leaks within the U.S. government, raising concerns about security and employees’ access levels. In April, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman was arrested for sharing national security secrets with an online gaming chat group. Last month, two Navy sailors in California were charged with providing military secrets to Chinese intelligence officers.
The recently unsealed court documents shed light on the specific documents taken by Lemma from a secure State Department facility. The New York Times had previously reported that he was arrested in August on charges of spying for Ethiopia, a country that receives significant aid from the United States. However, little else was known about the case until now.
Although the court complaint does not explicitly name the country Lemma was working for, U.S. officials have identified it as Ethiopia. They also described the espionage activities as having a narrow focus. The State Department has stated that it will collaborate with intelligence agencies to review the national security and foreign policy implications of the case.
The court filing reveals that Lemma has been employed by the State Department since at least 2021, working evening shifts at a secure facility in Washington. Starting from around May 2022, he also began working during the day as an analyst at the Justice Department, granting him access to classified information.
Lemma held the position of an information technology administrator in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (I.N.R.), the State Department’s intelligence arm. He had access to classified systems and handled sensitive American intelligence used to inform ambassadors and diplomats. This information encompassed various subjects, including the ongoing war in Ethiopia, which would be of particular interest to the Ethiopian government.
In his role, Lemma was authorized to transport highly sensitive material between classified systems and could transfer classified information to unclassified systems. Some of the documents he allegedly took were marked as secret or top secret.
From December 2022 to August 2023, Lemma copied information from numerous intelligence reports on various topics, as stated in the court filing. In some instances, he removed the classification markings and pasted the contents into Word documents. The majority of the reports appear to be related to Ethiopia, a country where Lemma has familial connections.
Since his return from a trip to Africa in July 2022, Lemma is accused of taking over 100 documents containing classified information. He allegedly made a second trip to Africa in mid-April. Investigators noted that Lemma was observed retrieving classified material without authorized access and taking handwritten notes. He then sent these materials, along with classified documents, photographs, maps, and details about neighboring countries, to his overseas handler using an encrypted platform.
In September 2022, Lemma shared information about the military activities of another country in East Africa, the court filings allege.
Ethiopia, located in the geopolitically significant Horn of Africa, is one of the world’s poorest countries, facing challenges such as drought, famine, political unrest, and a civil war. The United States has provided Ethiopia with over $3 billion in aid, according to the State Department. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visited Ethiopia to strengthen ties with the United States in response to the growing influence of China and Russia.
The F.B.I.’s investigation into Lemma benefitted from the spy’s poor trade craft. Their encrypted conversations freely discussed military activities and revealed specific details about rebel groups and their command centers. The court filings portray Lemma as an eager spy.
In one exchange, the intelligence official provided specific subjects for Lemma to gather information about. During September 2022, the official stated that it was “time to continue ur support,” to which Lemma replied, “Roger that!”
In another chat, the intelligence officer praised Lemma, perhaps in the hopes of encouraging him to continue his espionage activities, emphasizing the importance of individuals who sacrificially protect their nation’s history. The officer added, “You always remembered. It doesn’t matter the results.”
Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting.
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