DIA employee arrested after allegedly attempting to give classified information to foreign govt: DOJ

A Defense Intelligence Agency employee was arrested after allegedly attempting to give classified information to a foreign government, according to the Justice Department.

IT specialist Nathan Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested Thursday for attempting to transmit national defense information to an officer or agent of a foreign government, per the DOJ.

Laatsch became a DIA civilian employee in 2019, where he worked with the Insider Threat Division and held a Top Secret security clearance.

The FBI began an operation this past March after receiving a tip that a person, who was found to be Laatsch, offered to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government.

An email from Laatsch allegedly said that he did not “agree or align with the values of this administration” and was therefore “willing to share classified information” that he had access to, including “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation,” according to DOJ court documents.

Laatsch allegedly communicated multiple times with an FBI agent, who he allegedly believed was a foreign government official, and began transcribing classified information to a notepad at his desk. He allegedly exfiltrated the information from his workspace over approximately three days before confirming to the FBI agent that he was prepared to transmit the information.

On May 1, Laatsch went to a public park in northern Virginia where he allegedly deposited the classified information for the foreign government to retrieve.

After he left, the FBI retrieved the information, which was on a thumb drive that had a message from Laatsch and multiple typed documents, each containing information that was portion-marked up to the Secret or Top Secret levels. His message allegedly indicated that he had included “a decent sample size” of classified information to “decently demonstrate the range of types of products” to which he had access.

A week later, Laatsch allegedly told the FBI agent that he was interested in “citizenship for your country” because he did not “expect[] things here to improve in the long term.” While he said he was “not opposed to other compensation,” he was not in a position where he needed to seek “material compensation.”

After allegedly exfiltrating more classified information and attempting to give it to the foreign country on Thursday, the FBI arrested him after receiving the documents.

Laatsch's initial court appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia was on Friday.

“The conduct alleged in this case is a profound betrayal of the American people and a direct threat to our national security,” DOJ's National Security Division head Sue J. Bai said in a statement on Thursday.

“When someone entrusted with access to classified information attempts to provide it to a foreign government, it jeopardizes our intelligence capabilities, our military advantage, and the safety of our nation. The National Security Division is committed to using every tool available to uncover, disrupt, and hold accountable those who seek to harm the United States.”