Indian-origin Ashley Tellis, who worked as a contractor at the Pentagon and advisor to the State Department, has been arrested. According to court records, Tellis, an expert on South Asian affairs, allegedly accessed and deleted documents related to Air Force tactics and techniques. A published FBI affidavit said Tellis met with Chinese government officials several times over the past several years. The affidavit said that in April 2023, he attended a dinner with Chinese officials in a suburb of Washington DC and at times could be heard talking about Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
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According to the affidavit, Tellis works as an unpaid consultant to the State Department and is a contractor of the Office of Net Assessment (ONA). ONA is the Pentagon’s internal think tank responsible for predicting future security threats. The Defense Department announced in March that ONA would be disbanded and reorganized. Tellis met several times with Chinese government officials at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington. Citing AFP, the FBI affidavit said that during one such dinner, he brought a manila envelope, which he did not take back with him.
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On two other occasions Chinese officials reportedly presented him with gift bags. Lindsay Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that Tellis has been criminally charged with unlawful possession of national defense information, in violation of 18 USC ยง 793(e). US Attorney Halligan said that we are completely focused on protecting the American people from all foreign and domestic threats. The allegations made in this case pose a serious threat to the safety of our citizens.