Contractor for the CIA charged with leaking classified defense information to a romantic partner's Substack

The FBI arrested a government contractor on Friday morning who is accused of leaking national defense information to a romantic partner who repeatedly posted classified information to an online publication, the Justice Department said. Ian A. Brinksman, 42, of the District of Columbia, was arrested after a search of his home and charged by criminal complaint with unlawfully transmitting national defense information.

According to the complaint, Brinksman began working in 2020 as an employee of a U.S. government agency based in the Eastern District of Virginia, and in 2022 he became a developer for systems integration at a contractor to the same agency, the department said. He held a Top Secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information throughout the period covered by the complaint. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the FBI arrested "a contractor who provided services to CIA" after a referral from the agency.

The complaint says Brinksman had an ongoing personal relationship with a person who runs a publication on Substack, the Justice Department said. Prosecutors allege that articles published there this year mirrored classified intelligence reports, UPI and Reuters reported. Prosecutors also cited a September fundraising post in which the writer said she had "published reporting based on classified" assessments and a social media post that said, "I also accept leaks," according to the department.

"There is absolutely zero tolerance for leaking, and anyone who violates their oath will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Ratcliffe said in the department's statement. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department "will continue prosecuting individuals who leak classified information."

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, UPI and Newsweek reported. The case is being prosecuted by the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. A criminal complaint is an allegation, and Brinksman is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.