Feb 21, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Defense intelligence analyst pleads guilty for leaks on foreign weapons system

Fadel Allassan

Photo: Terry Ashe/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images

A Defense Intelligence Agency analyst pleaded guilty to leaking classified information on a foreign country's weapon system to a reporter he had a relationship with, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

The big picture: Henry Kyle Frese faces a maximum of 10 years in prison after he "alerted our country’s adversaries to sensitive national defense information, putting the nation’s security at risk," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers in a news release.

The backdrop: Frese told CNBC's Amanda Macias, who he was in a relationship with, that he was "down" to help her coworker with a story about the weapons system if it would help Macias' career, per the New York Times.

Frese and Macias lived at the same address as of last year, and the relationship was clear from social media posts, per the DOJ.

Go deeper: James Comey reportedly faces another Justice Department investigation over leaks

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Defense intelligence analyst pleads guilty for leaks on foreign weapons system

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