Willful transmission of national defense information
Criminal charge
Willful transmission of national defense information
Penalty
30 months in prison
Henry Kyle (Keenan) Frese (born October 27, 1988) is a former employee at the Defense Intelligence Agency, between February 2018 and October 2019,[2] during which time he was assigned to a "Sensitive Compartment Information Facility" in Virginia.[3]
Federal investigation
Arrest
On October 9, 2019, Frese was arrested and charged with two violations of the Espionage Act under 18 USC 793(d) by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia for willful transmission of National Defense Information.[4][5][6] He held "Top Secret" (TS) clearance.[7] He was arrested at work at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Reston, Virginia, on October 9, 2019.[8]
The Justice Department alleged that Frese disclosed the top secret information to newspaper reporters, one of which Justice alleged was a reporter with whom Frese may have been involved in a "romantic relationship,"[9] and whom the government referred to as "Journalist 1;" Erik Wemple of The Washington Post identified the journalist as Amanda Macias,[10] as did The Wall Street Journal, which also identified a second involved journalist as Courtney Kube, a senior reporter for NBC.[11] Frese and Macias had shared a home.[12]
Guilty plea
On February 20, 2020, Frese pleaded guilty to the willful transmission of Top Secret national defense information.[13][14]
On June 18, 2020, Frese was sentenced to 30 months in prison for "leaking information to two journalists, including one he was dating";[18] prosecutors had asked for nine years, but his defense argued, among others, that his girlfriend, “a reporter whose 'career was stalling',” had pressured and influenced him at a susceptible time.[19][20] While he at first rebuffed her cajoling,[21] his “judgment was clouded by 'a misguided effort to salvage a relationship that was not worth saving'.”[22]
Frese was released from prison on October 14, 2022.[23]
^Erik Wemple (10 October 2019). "Reporters at CNBC and NBC News become tangled in leak investigation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 February 2020. Frese followed Macias on Twitter and Macias followed Frese on Twitter. That makes sense, especially when considering this additional fact: "Public records checks also show that FRESE and Journalist 1 had the same residential address from August 2017 through August 2018. Based on reviews of FRESE's and Journalist 1's public social media pages, it appears that they were involved in a romantic relationship for some or all of that period of time."
^Frank Chung (10 October 2019). "TV host's son interrupts broadcast in viral 'mum moment' — as she's named in classified leak scandal". News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020. Senate Intelligence Committee staffer James Wolfe was arrested and charged with lying to investigators about his contacts with three reporters, one of whom he was allegedly in a romantic relationship with. New York Times reporter Ali Watkins had previously tweeted about wanting to be like the character Zoe Barnes
^Stephen L. Miller (11 December 2019). "Why is everyone pretending reporters never sleep with sources?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020. Watkins and Macias are still employed by the Times and CNBC. Not only does it appear the practice of sleeping with sources for information is more than a mere trope, it seems it's something not punished by newsrooms
^"Ex-analyst gets 2.5 years for leaking info to journalists". KSL-TV. The Associated Press. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020. counterterrorism analyst who leaked classified information to two journalists, including one he was dating, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison
^MATTHEW BARAKAT (16 June 2020). "Ex-analyst says journalist girlfriend cajoled him into leaks". WHSV-TV. The Associated Press. Retrieved 6 September 2020. The journalist began asking Frese to confirm information she received from other sources, or to give her new leads on potential stories because her "career was stalling,"
