CIA contractor charged for leaking defense information to lover, feds say

A CIA contractor has been charged with passing highly sensitive national defense information to a woman he was dating, who published it on her Substack newsletter, according to the Daily Mail.

Ian Brinksman, 42, faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly abusing his intelligence access to send classified US reports, including some about Israel, to her. He was arrested on Friday after authorities searched his Washington home, the Department of Justice said, and has been charged with unlawfully transmitting national defense information.

An affidavit cites a November 2025 email in which he allegedly told a friend: “The lady I’ve been seeing is a journalist and recently went independent. So I’ve been helping her get that off the ground.”

Brinksman held a top-secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information. Officials did not name the woman. The Daily Mail reports she appears to be independent journalist Aída Chávez, who has not been charged. At least five of her 2026 articles contain details matching the affidavit, and the couple exchanged more than 800 phone calls in a year, officials said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI “arrested the subject after he was caught allegedly betraying his oath and leaking classified defense information.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said: “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.”