CIA employee accused to trying to thwart Israel attack on Iran

 Intercept:

The leak of classified documents about preparations for an attack on Iran forced Israel to delay military action at a time of sky-high tensions in the Middle East, a federal prosecutor said as he sought to convince a judge to jail a CIA employee accused of violating the Espionage Act.

Instead, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan Davis placed Asif William Rahman on home detention and GPS monitoring at his father’s house before trial, in a case that grew even more mysterious after a Friday hearing.

Rahman, 34, is accused of the October leak of secret analyses of Israel’s preparations for a strike on Iran. Those analyses, which were based on satellite photos, included details of the missiles and planes that could be used in an attack.

The disclosures embarrassed U.S. officials who were caught spying on a purported ally and launched a leak hunt that ultimately landed on Rahman, who was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia on November 12. He had been posted to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, legal filings show.

While prosecutors made no claims Rahman was working with a foreign government, they sought on Friday to keep him detained as a flight risk as he faces two counts of leaking documents. Instead, Davis allowed Rahman to go free while acknowledging that the government had what a prosecutor called “damning evidence.” The government said it would appeal that decision.

Neither prosecutors nor Rahman’s attorneys spoke to what may have motivated Rahman, a Cincinnati native and Yale University graduate who has served in the CIA since 2016. A trail of online records uncovered by The Intercept suggest that he was interested in social justice causes from a young age.
...

As someone who once dealt with classified information, I can't imagine someone attempting to use it to thwart a top-secret operation.  This looks like giving aid and comfort to the enemy of both the US and Israel.  It is not clear at this point whether he will remain an employee of the CIA, but I suspect his days there are numbered.

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