Ex-Senate employee admits lying to FBI

WASHINGTON — A former Senate Intelligence Committee employee pleaded guilty Monday to lying to the FBI about contact he had with a reporter.

James Wolfe, the longtime director of security for the committee — one of multiple congressional panels investigating potential ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — pleaded guilty to a single charge in the three-count indictment against him.

As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors will seek to dismiss the remaining charges at his sentencing in December. Wolfe, of Ellicott City, Md., will likely face a maximum of six months behind bars, according to the plea agreement. But he could also get no prison time.

Prosecutors said Wolfe told a reporter in October 2017 that he had served someone with a subpoena involving the potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign and later lied to FBI agents about the exchange.

After the reporter published a story about the subpoena, Wolfe sent a message, “I’m glad you got the scoop,” according to the indictment. Though Wolfe was never charged with disclosing classified information, prosecutors alleged that he was in regular contact with multiple journalists who covered the committee in violation of Senate rules. He also maintained a years-long personal relationship with one reporter that prosecutors said he also tried to hide.

A spokesman for the Senate Intelligence Committee declined to comment on the plea.