All articles tagged with #classified information
Former Florida federal prosecutor Carmen Lineberger was charged with stealing a copy of special counsel Jack Smith’s sealed report on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, allegedly emailing the document to her personal email disguised as a Bundt cake recipe.
President Biden plans to seek court action to block the release of roughly 70 hours of partially redacted audio from his 2017 interviews with a memoir ghostwriter, arguing disclosures could be weaponized or invade privacy; the DOJ says Biden has a deadline to act and a release to Congress and the Heritage Foundation could be paused until June 15 if he goes to court. The tapes include Biden saying he "found all the classified stuff downstairs," though he has repeatedly said he did not share classified information. The case centers on FOIA litigation and whether the materials are personal records or presidential papers, with implications for transparency and congressional access.
Federal prosecutors charged Special Forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke with using confidential government information to win roughly $400,000 through bets on Polymarket about the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The case alleges insider trading and cites commodities and wire fraud charges, marking the first prosecution tied to prediction-market bets and spotlighting calls for tighter regulation of prediction markets.
An active-duty U.S. Army soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly used nonpublic classified information about a planned operation to capture Nicolás Maduro to place bets on Polymarket, profiting about $410,000; he is charged by indictment with multiple counts including commodities fraud, wire fraud, and unlawful monetary transaction.
A U.S. Army soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, was indicted for allegedly using nonpublic classified information about a military operation (Operation Absolute Resolve to capture Nicolás Maduro) to place bets on Polymarket, profiting about $410,000. He allegedly created a Polymarket account, placed about 13 bets between December 27, 2025 and January 2, 2026, and attempted to conceal proceeds after the operation's public announcement. He faces multiple charges including three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, one count of wire fraud, and one count of an unlawful monetary transaction, with a potential maximum of up to 70 years in prison. The case is being prosecuted in federal court by SDNY with cooperation from the FBI and Polymarket.
An Army veteran who supported the Delta Force at Fort Bragg was arrested on a federal charge of unlawful transmission of national defense information for allegedly sharing classified Delta Force tactics with a journalist; prosecutors say she disclosed secret techniques/procedures to a reporter, potentially exposing sensitive military operations. She faces up to 10 years in prison, with a detention hearing planned as the case unfolds and officials vow to pursue leaks.
The FBI arrested Courtney Williams, a former Fort Bragg employee, on charges that she provided classified national defense information to a journalist connected to Seth Harp’s upcoming Fort Bragg book; investigators say phone records show contact between Williams and the journalist dating back to 2022, and that Williams had access to sensitive documents during her six years at Fort Bragg.
The Justice Department says former Army employee Courtney Williams, who held a top-secret clearance (2010–2016) and worked at Fort Bragg with Delta Force, was arrested for transmitting classified national defense information to a journalist, after more than 180 messages and over 10 hours of calls between 2022 and 2025. The journalist has been named in a 2025 book and a Politico Magazine piece published Aug. 12, 2025. Williams faces Espionage Act-related charges; she is represented by a federal public defender. The article also notes her past complaints of harassment and that allied comments from Seth Harp defend her as a whistleblower. The case remains under legal proceedings.
A prosecutorial memo released to Congress says Trump showed a classified map he retained from his first term to passengers on a 2022 private-jet flight and kept another highly sensitive record accessible to only a handful of officials, illustrating an early moment in Jack Smith’s investigation as prosecutors moved toward indictment.
A federal judge in Florida, Aileen Cannon, blocked public release of Special Counsel Jack Smith's extensive report on Trump's classified-documents case, keeping potentially damaging details under seal as the case moves forward.
President Trump criticized Barack Obama for saying aliens are real, claiming Obama revealed ’classified information’ by discussing extraterrestrial life; Obama had said he was guessing and did not specify what, if anything, was classified.
A government contractor, Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, 61, was indicted on five counts of unlawfully transmitting and one count of unlawfully retaining national defense information after allegedly sharing classified material with Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson; the case followed a court-authorized search of Natanson’s home and has raised questions about DOJ’s handling of newsgathering evidence, with Natanson not charged. Perez-Lugones faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted; a hearing on seized devices is pending after a magistrate briefly allowed his release before prosecutors appealed.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter blocked the FBI from accessing electronic devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson during a January search tied to alleged classified disclosures, keeping the materials off-limits while Natanson and the Post petition the warrants and pursue litigation, with a Feb. 6 hearing scheduled. The move comes amid broader debate over using search warrants versus subpoenas in journalism investigations and relates to the Aurelio Perez-Lugones espionage case.
Federal agents raided the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson as part of a probe into a contractor accused of unlawfully retaining and leaking classified information; Natanson was reportedly not the focus, but agents seized her phone, work and personal computers, and a Garmin watch. The contractor, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, is charged after investigators found classified material (including in a lunch box) and he is due in court. The raid has sparked press-freedom concerns, even as officials defend the investigation and highlight national-security risks posed by leaks; Natanson has previously reported on government workforce reductions under Trump.
Adm. Mitch Bradley indicated to lawmakers that it is possible to release edited portions of a video showing a military boat strike that killed two survivors, despite previous claims that full unedited videos could compromise sensitive information. The discussion highlights ongoing debates over transparency and national security concerns regarding the release of military footage. Democrats argue that there is no legitimate reason to withhold the video, while officials emphasize the need to protect sources and methods.