US government employee charged with trying to give classified information to a foreign government [View all]

[Zorro]

An information technology specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency was charged Thursday with attempting to transmit classified information to a representative of a foreign government, the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors say Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested at a location where he had arranged to deposit sensitive records to a person he thought was an official of a foreign government, but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. The identity of the country Laatsch thought he was in communication with was not disclosed, but the Justice Department described it as a friendly, or allied, nation.

It was not immediately clear if Laatsch, who was set to make a court appearance Friday, had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

The Justice Department said its investigation into Laatsch began in March after officials received a tip that he had offered to provide classified information to another nation. Laatsch wrote in his email that he “did not agree or align with the values of this administration” and was willing to transmit sensitive materials, including intelligence documents, to which he had access, prosecutors said.

https://apnews.com/article/nathan-laatsch-espionage-charge-defense-intelligence-agency-e60388df7f4e07a8d8d942d86513b27c

I expect we will be hearing of a few more cases like this from dismissed/disgruntled ex-federal employees.