A U.S. Air Force civilian employee was arrested over the weekend for allegedly transmitting classified information – including information regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine – through a foreign dating website.
“My sweet Dave, thanks for the valuable information, it’s great that two officials from the USA are going to Kyiv,” said an individual identified in an indictment as “Co-Conspirator 1” to David Franklin Slater, 63, in an April 2022 message. This individual claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine
Russia began its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That’s when Slater began messaging the co-conspirator, according to documents provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Franklin, a resident of Nebraska, was assigned to United States Strategic Command “USSTRATCOM” at Offutt Air Force base in the state. He held a Top Secret security clearance from in or around August 2021 until in or around April 2022 after he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Army, said the DOJ.
“It is alleged that Slater willfully, improperly, and unlawfully transmitted NDI classified as ‘SECRET,’ which he had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, on a foreign online dating platform to a person not authorized to receive such information,” the department said.
Charging documents allege that Slater attended USSTRATCOM briefings regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine where classified and sensitive information was shared. Via the foreign dating website, the co-conspirator regularly asked him to provide classified information, and they often called him “secret informant love” and “secret agent” per the documents.
In response, Slater allegedly provided classified information to the co-conspirator, including information about military targets and Russian military capabilities.
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice will seek to hold accountable those who knowingly and willfully put their country at risk by disclosing classified information.”
Slater was arrested Saturday and charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to and the transmission of national defense information. He was expected to make a court appearance Tuesday.
“If convicted, Slater faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of conspiracy to transmit and the transmission of national defense information,” said the DOJ, which noted that defendants are to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. “A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”
While the U.S. has worked to aid Ukraine since the invasion began more than two years ago, future funding has been in the balance due to tension in Congress.
“Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone today with Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov to discuss the latest on the situation on the ground in Ukraine,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder in a Monday statement. “Secretary Austin reiterated that the United States and our coalition of some 50 Allies and partners will continue to support Ukraine in its ongoing fight against Russian aggression. The two leaders agreed on the urgent need to pass President [Joe] Biden's bipartisan National Security Supplemental and pledged to remain in close contact.”