FBI arrests CIA contractor for allegedly leaking secret defense, Middle East intel to journalist

Brinksman is accused of sharing information from at least five top secret reports, including material that “reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security."

A US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractor with Top Secret security clearance was arrested by the FBI on Friday for allegedly leaking classified defense and Middle East-related information to an individual who published the information online, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

The contractor, 42-year-old Ian Brinksman, worked for a US government agency based in Virginia since 2020 before being hired by a contractor to the same agency in 2022. Throughout his employment, Brinksman held the Top Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information.

In a statement about the arrest, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that Brinksman provided services to the CIA as a contractor. 

Brinksman accused of leaking information for use in publication

The criminal complaint against Brinksman alleged that he had an ongoing personal relationship with a person the DOJ identified as “Individual 1,” who claimed to have published reporting based on classified government intelligence assessments. 

An affidavit for the arrest included an email Brinksman sent to a friend in which he stated that he had recently begun seeing “a lady” who worked as a journalist and wrote articles on the online publishing platform Substack.

Brinksman told the friend that the lady’s work focused on foreign policy and that he was “helping her get that off the ground.”

Brinksman’s workplace, a facility that stores and processes classified information, does not allow employees to bring cellphones or personal electronics into the facility for security reasons.

According to the DOJ, Brinksman was documented on multiple occasions entering his workplace, accessing specific Top Secret reports, then exiting the facility and speaking to Individual 1 on the phone.

Shortly after speaking with Brinksman, Individual 1 posted Substack articles containing classified information related to the Top Secret reports Brinksman accessed.

According to the affidavit, Brinksman is accused of sharing information from at least five Top Secret intelligence reports, including material that “reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security” of the US if leaked. None of the reports Brinksman allegedly leaked fell within the scope of his work.

Affidavit details align with Substack articles published by American journalist

The DOJ and FBI did not identify Individual 1 or her Substack, but The Jerusalem Post’s analysis of the details of the affidavit found that the information may align with American journalist Aida Chavez and articles written by her for Substack publication Capital & Empire. 

Reports from both Ynet and the New York Post also connected Chavez to the information released by the DOJ, but Chavez has not been charged with any offenses related to the investigation into Brinksman or officially linked to the case.

The affidavit notes multiple dates on which Individual 1 is alleged to have published articles containing classified information leaked by Brinksman.

Articles published by Chavez on corresponding dates cite sources including a “confidential US intelligence assessment,” a “classified CIA assessment,” and a “classified CIA analysis.”

Many of the articles alleged to contain leaked confidential information discussed Israel, US-Israel relations, and the ongoing war with Iran.