Ashley Tellis, a senior adviser with the US State Department and the Department of Defence, unlawfully retained classified defence materials and repeatedly met with Chinese officials without authorisation.
The accusations span activities dating back to 2023 and involve potential breaches of national security.
Tellis, considered a respected subject-matter expert on India and South Asian affairs, served as an unpaid senior adviser to the State Department and held a contractor position at the Office of Net Assessment—recently renamed the Department of War.
His career began at the State Department in 2001, and he also served as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
According to federal prosecutors, Tellis held a top-secret security clearance and had access to highly sensitive national defence information.
An affidavit released by the US Justice Department accuses him of violating laws related to the unlawful retention of such materials.
Documents Discovered in Virginia Home
Authorities conducted a search at Tellis’s residence in Vienna, Virginia, where they reportedly recovered over 1,000 pages of documents marked ‘TOP SECRET’ and ‘SECRET’.
The documents are believed to have been removed from secure government facilities without proper authorisation.
On 12 September 2023, Tellis allegedly instructed a colleague to print several classified documents at a government facility.
Later that month, on 25 September, he printed materials related to the US Air Force’s military aircraft capabilities.
Prosecutors claim Tellis maintained ongoing contact with Chinese government officials. One such meeting occurred in September 2022 at a Virginia restaurant, where he was seen carrying a manila envelope.
The meetings continued into 2023, with authorities citing a dinner on 11 April during which Tellis and Chinese officials reportedly discussed Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies.
Further, during a 2 September 2023 engagement, Tellis allegedly received a gift bag from Chinese counterparts during a dinner meeting—an exchange that has raised further concerns among investigators.
Wider National Security Implications
Authorities treat the case as a serious breach of trust and national security.
Although they have not formally charged Tellis with espionage, the scale of the information he allegedly mishandled and his foreign contacts have placed him at the centre of an unfolding federal investigation.
The US Justice Department has yet to release additional details, but officials indicate that the inquiry remains active and could result in broader charges related to espionage or unauthorised disclosure of classified information.
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