A retired U.S. Air Force officer has pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass classified information about Russia’s war against Ukraine on an online dating platform.
A retired U.S. Air Force officer has pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass classified information about Russia’s war against Ukraine on an online dating platform.
The AP News reports that David Slater, 64, who had classified information while working for the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, pleaded guilty to one count before a federal judge in Omaha on Thursday. In exchange for the guilty plea, two other counts were dropped, but under a plea agreement, he will serve five to seven years in prison.
Slater had access to some of the country’s most secretive secrets, said Deputy Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg.
«David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by voluntarily sharing national defense information with an unknown individual online, despite having years of military experience that should have made him suspicious of that individual’s motives», — he said.
According to court documents, Slater attended classified briefings on Russia’s war in Ukraine. The former soldier was arrested in March 2024; he admitted to conspiring to pass classified information via the messaging platform of a foreign dating site to a user who claimed to be a woman from Ukraine. The classified information related to Russia’s military objectives and military capabilities.
It is noted that the user regularly asked Slater to provide her with classified information. In one message, she called him «my secret informant.» She ended another message with the words: «You are my secret agent. With love.»
«Dave, I hope NATO prepares a very pleasant 'surprise' for Putin tomorrow! Can you tell me?» wrote the user to whom Slater leaked information.
The court documents do not specify which country the data leaker was working for. They also do not specify which dating platform was used.
Previously, Jack Teixeira, a US National Guard soldier who was convicted of leaking classified documents about the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the gaming messenger Discord, said he was a «proud patriot» who was only «exposing and correcting the lies perpetuated by the Biden administration» and saving the lives of American, Russian, and Ukrainian military personnel.
