Leaker Found? Former Senate Staffer Hit With Major Charges
By The Blaze. A former long-time staffer for the Senate Intelligence Committee, James A. Wolfe, 58, was charged on Thursday with lying to the FBI. He is reportedly accused of sharing non-public information of the Committee’s business to members of the press.
Wolfe was charged with three counts of making false statements during an investigation of “the unauthorized disclosure of information,” which was endorsed by the entirety of the Senate. He had previously served as security director to the Committee for 29 years. . .
It’s limited, for now. But as reported earlier on Thursday evening by TheBlaze, a New York Times reporter’s private messages were seized by the Department of Justice. No word yet on whether the two stories are related, for certain. But there are definitely signs.
In the indictment, it’s indicated that after Wolfe handled classified documents related to the “Russia probe,” he exchanged 82 text messages with a reporter the same evening. Later, that same reporter revealed the identity of Carter Page, who was part of the Committee’s investigation. . .
As the security director of the Senate Committee handling the Russia probe for the past 18 months, Wolfe was the person in charge of enforcing security measures during the proceedings, making the charges even more disturbing. He reportedly resigned “last winter.” (Read more from “Leaker Found? Former Senate Staffer Charged With Lying to FBI About Reporter Contacts” HERE)
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Ex-Senate Staffer Faces Charges in Leak Investigation
By The Washington Post. A former staff member of the Senate Intelligence Committee has been indicted and arrested on charges of making false statements to the FBI during an investigation into the leak of classified information, the Justice Department announced Thursday. As part of the investigation, law enforcement officials seized years’ worth of phone and email records of a New York Times reporter, Ali Watkins, who had previously been in a romantic relationship with the staffer, the newspaper reported Thursday evening.
The Senate staffer, James A. Wolfe, was indicted on three counts of making false statements while he served as the committee’s director of security, a position in which he was entrusted with secret and top-secret information provided to the committee as part of its oversight of the intelligence community, the Justice Department said in a statement. Wolfe served in the job for nearly 30 years, from 1987 until last December.
The government alleges that Wolfe lied to FBI agents in December 2017 about “repeated contacts” with three reporters, including through the use of encrypted messaging applications. He is further accused of lying about providing two reporters with “non-public information related to matters occurring before the [committee],” the statement read. (Read more from “Ex-Senate Staffer Faces Charges in Leak Investigation” HERE)
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