U.S.-India knowledgeable who suggested U.S. administrations arrested over secret paperwork

A number one knowledgeable on U.S.-India relations who has suggested successive U.S. administrations has been arrested and charged with illegal retention of nationwide protection data, together with over a thousand pages of prime secret and secret paperwork at his house, courtroom paperwork confirmed.

Ashley Tellis, 64, who served on the National Security Council of former Republican President George W. Bush and is listed in an FBI courtroom affidavit as an unpaid adviser to the State Department and a Pentagon contractor, was arrested on the weekend and charged on Monday, the paperwork seen on Tuesday (October 14, 2025) confirmed.

Tellis can be a senior fellow on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington assume tank.

A State Department official confirmed that Tellis was arrested on Saturday, however declined to remark additional. A Pentagon official mentioned it doesn’t touch upon ongoing litigation.

Carnegie didn’t instantly reply and Tellis couldn’t instantly be reached. His lawyer was not listed within the courtroom paperwork and was not instantly identified.

Trump administration officers, together with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have vowed to prosecute people who mishandle labeled data.

The FBI affidavit accompanying the cost doc mentioned that in September and October this 12 months Tellis entered Defense and State Department buildings and was noticed accessing and printing labeled paperwork, together with about navy plane capabilities, and leaving by automobile with a leather-based briefcase or bag.

The affidavit mentioned a search of Tellis’ residence in Vienna, Virginia, on Saturday uncovered over a thousand pages of labeled paperwork with prime secret and secret markings.

The affidavit additionally mentioned Tellis had met Chinese authorities officers on a number of events over the previous a number of years. The conferences included a September 15 dinner at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia, at which it mentioned Tellis arrived with a manila envelope, which he didn’t seem to have when he left.

The affidavit mentioned that on account of his employment with the State Department and Pentagon Tellis possessed a Top Secret safety clearance with entry to Sensitive Compartmented Information.

A Justice Department assertion mentioned that if convicted, Tellis faces as much as 10 years in jail and a fantastic of as much as $250,000.

“We are totally centered on defending the American individuals from all threats, international and home,” mentioned Lindsey Halligan, U.S. legal professional for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The fees as alleged on this case symbolize a grave danger to the security and safety of our residents.”