WASHINGTON — The Defense Intelligence Agency’s information technology specialist was charged on Thursday with attempting to convey sensitive material to a representative of a foreign country, the Justice Department announced.
Prosecutors say Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was caught at a place where he had planned to transfer critical documents with someone he thought was a foreign government official but was actually an undercover FBI agent. The identity of the country Laatsch believed he was communicating with was not revealed, although the Justice Department classified it as a friendly, or allied, nation.
It was unclear whether Laatsch, who was scheduled to appear in court on Friday, had a lawyer to represent him.
The Justice Department said its investigation into Laatsch began in March, following a tip that he had volunteered to disclose classified material to another country. Laatsch stated in his email that he “did not agree or align with the values of this administration” and was willing to send sensitive files, including intelligence records, to which he had access, according to prosecutors.
An undercover agent contacted Laatsch, who began copying confidential information to a notepad and planned to send off information for the foreign government representative to pick up in a park.
Prosecutors claim that at one drop-off this month, Laatsch left behind a thumb drive containing various typed papers marked Secret and Top Secret. According to investigators, Laatsch stated that he was interested in gaining citizenship from that country since he did not expect “things here to improve in the long term.”
He was nabbed Thursday at a predetermined place after making extra arrangements for a drop-off.