Ex-FBI agent charged with leaking secret info

WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department has charged a former Minnesota FBI agent with leaking classified information to the online news site The Intercept, Minnesota Public Radio reported on Wednesday.

It said Terry Albury was charged this week by the department’s National Security Division with two counts including “knowingly and willfully” transmitting documents and information relating to national defense to a reporter for a national news organization.

Albury, the only AfricanAmerican FBI field agent in Minnesota, was assigned as Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport liaison working on counterterrorism matters, MPR News said.

Albury’s attorneys, JaneAnne Murray and Joshua Dratel, said in a statement that their client was “driven by a conscientious commitment to long- term national security and addressing the well- documented systemic biases within the FBI.”

The attorneys said Albury “accepts full responsibility” for the alleged conduct.

The Justice Department and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A source familiar with the case told Reuters that The Intercept was the recipient of leaks for which Albury was charged.

In January 2017, The Intercept published a series titled ‘The FBI’s Secret Rules’ based on Albury’s leaked documents, which show the depth and broad powers of the FBI expansion since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks and its recruitment efforts, according to MPR News.

The Intercept reported the charges against Albury and published a statement from editor-in- chief Betsy Reed that said the news outlet does not discuss anonymous sources. — Reuters