Retired Army Officer Pleads Guilty To Sharing Classified Info On Russia-ukraine War On Dating Site

A retired Army serviceman who worked arsenic a civilian for nan Air Force has pleaded blameworthy to colluding to transmit classified accusation astir Russia's warfare pinch Ukraine connected a overseas online making love platform.

David Slater, 64, who had apical concealed clearance astatine his occupation astatine nan U.S. Strategic Command astatine Offutt Air Force Base successful Nebraska, pleaded blameworthy to a azygous count earlier a national magistrate judge successful Omaha connected Thursday. In speech for his blameworthy plea, 2 different counts were dropped.

Slater remains free pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 8. Prosecutors and his lawyers agreed that he should service betwixt 5 years and 10 months and 7 years and 3 months successful prison, and nan authorities will urge a word astatine nan debased extremity of that range. The complaint carries a statutory maximum of 10 years down bars.

U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher will yet determine whether to judge nan plea statement and will find Slater's sentence.

"I conspired to willfully pass nationalist defense accusation to an unauthorized person," Slater said successful a handwritten statement connected his petition to alteration his plea.

Slater had entree to immoderate of nan country's astir intimately held secrets, John Eisenberg, adjunct lawyer wide for nationalist security, said successful a statement.

"Access to classified accusation comes pinch awesome responsibility," Lesley Woods, nan U.S. lawyer for Nebraska, said successful nan aforesaid statement. "David Slater grounded successful his work to protect this accusation by willingly sharing National Defense Information pinch an chartless online characteristic contempt having years of subject acquisition that should person caused him to beryllium suspicious of that person's motives."

Slater retired from nan Army arsenic a lieutenant colonel successful 2020 and worked successful a classified abstraction astatine nan guidelines from astir August 2021 until astir April 2022. He attended briefings astir nan Russia-Ukraine warfare that were classified up to apical secret, tribunal documents say. He was arrested successful March 2024.

In his plea agreement, he acknowledged that he conspired to transmit classified accusation that he learned from those briefings via nan overseas making love website's messaging level to an unnamed coconspirator, who claimed to beryllium a female surviving successful Ukraine. The information, classified arsenic secret, pertained to subject targets and Russian subject capabilities, according to nan plea agreement.

"Defendant knew and had logic to judge that specified accusation could beryllium utilized to nan wounded of nan United States aliases nan advantage of a overseas nation," nan statement states.

According to nan original indictment, nan coconspirator regularly asked Slater for classified information. She called him, "my concealed informant love!" successful 1 message. She closed different by saying, "You are my concealed agent. With love." In another, she wrote, "Dave, I dream tomorrow NATO will hole a very pleasant 'surprise' for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin! Will you show me?"

Court documents don't place nan coconspirator, aliases opportunity whether she was moving for Ukraine aliases Russia. They besides don't place nan making love platform.

Amy Donato, a spokesperson for nan U.S. attorney's agency successful Omaha, said Monday that she couldn't supply that information. Slater's attorney, Stuart Dornan, didn't instantly return a telephone seeking further details.