On Saturday, Legal Insurrection posted an article about Asif Rahman, a former CIA officer, who has been arrested and has pleaded guilty to sharing classified documents about Israel’s plans to launch a missile strike on Iran.
The article reports:
A former CIA analyst arrested in November and charged with leaking highly classified records showing Israeli plans to launch a retaliatory strike on Iran pleaded guilty Friday in a federal court in Virginia.
Asif Rahman, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of transmission of national defense information, according to court records.
Rahman faces up to 10 years in prison for the first count and up to three years for the second count. His sentencing was set for May 15.
Rahman admitted to accessing and printing out two documents regarding Israel’s retaliatory strike plans on Oct. 17 and transporting them to his residence, where he later uploaded images of them and provided them to “multiple individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them,” according to the plea agreement.
He later took various steps to try and conceal his involvement in the leak, even as authorities were able to track him down remarkably quickly given he was the only individual found to have printed out the documents, according to logs reviewed by investigators.
On Friday, Ynet news noted:
Rahman, a Yale University graduate, faces up to 20 years in prison under the Espionage Act. However, a plea deal under negotiation could limit his sentence to six and a half years. Federal prosecutors reportedly agreed to the reduced penalty after Rahman took responsibility for his actions and expressed a desire to resolve the case.
Rahman’s sentencing is scheduled for May 15. Prosecutors indicated they might recommend further leniency if Rahman continues cooperating with authorities.
I don’t care if he took responsibility for his actions, there needs to be a much longer prison sentence.