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By Joshua Rhett Miller
Senior Reporter
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A State Department employee has been accused of removing classified documents from government facilities and covertly meeting with Chinese officials for several years, according to federal prosecutors.
Ashley Joachim Tellis, an unpaid State Department senior adviser, is facing a felony charge of unlawful retention of national defense information after investigators found more than 1,000 pages of top secret or secret documents at his home Saturday in Vienna, Virginia.
Tellis, a State Department employee since 2001 who also worked as a contractor for the Office of Net Assessment within the Department of Defense, had a coworker print multiple classified documents for him during a visit to a DOD facility in Virginia on September 12, court documents allege.
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Investigators later found two file folders labeled “Tellis” in the cubicle he used, as well as top secret documents printed by his colleague earlier that day, federal prosecutors said.
Tellis, who also works as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, then allegedly entered the State Department’s Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, D.C., on September 25 and logged onto a “secret-level computer system” before leaving an hour later.
Tellis allegedly returned to the building later that day, this time carrying a leather briefcase. He proceeded to log onto the computer system and opened a 1,288-page document referring to U.S. Air Force tactics, techniques and procedures, according to the prosecutors.
“Tellis then opened the print window but canceled out without printing,” an affidavit of probable cause alleges. “Tellis re-saved the document, changing the file name to ‘Econ Reform.’ Tellis reopened the print window and entered ’59-172’ in the ‘pages’ window.”
Tellis proceeded to print a portion of the file, as well as another document classified as secret pertaining to U.S. Air Force Weapons School military aircraft capabilities, according to a 10-page affidavit obtained Tuesday by Newsweek.
Tellis has also met with Chinese government officials on multiple occasions in recent years, including a September 2 dinner in Fairfax, Virginia, federal prosecutors allege.
“Near the end of the dinner, the PRC officials gave Tellis a red gift bag,” court documents read.
Tellis allegedly met with Chinese officials during dinner meetings in Fairfax dating back to 2022.
“Tellis entered the restaurant with a manila envelope and the PRC officials entered the restaurant with a gift bag,” court documents indicate regarding an alleged September 2022 meeting. “Tellis and the PRC officials sat in a back corner of the restaurant with the manila envelope on the table.”
Authorities conducted a search of Tellis’ home on Saturday and recovered more than 1,000 pages of top secret or secret documents, including some in large trash bags in an unfinished storage room, according to court documents.
Tellis and his family had planned to travel to Rome on Saturday, with plans to return to the United States on October 27, an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit.
Tellis, a native of India, was arrested on Sunday. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A message seeking comment from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was not immediately returned.
Tellis, 64, specializes in international security and U.S. foreign and defense policy with a special focus on Asia and the Indian subcontinent at the Washington-based think tank, according to its website.
"While on assignment to the U.S. Department of State as senior adviser to the undersecretary of state for political affairs, he was intimately involved in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India," his Carnegie bio reads.
U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan announced charges against Tellis on Tuesday. He faces up 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
"We are fully focused on protecting the American people from all threats, foreign and domestic," Halligan said in a statement. "The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens. The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
A State Department official confirmed Tellis’ arrest, but referred additional inquiries to the FBI. A message seeking further details was not immediately returned Tuesday.
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