US intelligence employee arrested for alleged double-dealing of classified info

The FBI on Thursday arrested a Defense Intelligence Agency employee working in the Insider Threat Division unit with top secret security clearance for allegedly attempting to provide classified information to a foreign government, the Justice Department said.

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Va., was arrested after a monthslong investigation following a tip the FBI received in March, according to officials. Laatsch, employed by the agency since 2019, allegedly transcribed classified information to a notepad at his desk and repeated exfiltrated data from his workspace.

“The conduct alleged in this case is a profound betrayal of the American people and a direct threat to our national security,” Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in a statement. “When someone entrusted with access to classified information attempts to provide it to a foreign government, it jeopardizes our intelligence capabilities, our military advantage and the safety of our nation.”

Laatsch’s alleged double-dealing came to light through repeated communications with an FBI agent he thought was a foreign government official. His willingness to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government stemmed from a disillusionment with the current administration’s values, officials said.

The FBI said it arranged a drop at a public park in northern Virginia around May 1, where surveillance observed Laatsch leave a thumb drive at the specified location. The storage device contained a message from Laatsch and multiple typed documents with secret and top secret information, according to the Justice Department. 

Laatsch allegedly indicated the initial handover, “a decent sample size,” was meant to demonstrate the range of the types of products he could obtain and share with his level of access.

A week later, after Laatsch received confirmation the thumb drive was retrieved, he allegedly noted interest in gaining citizenship with the country he believed to be conspiring with in exchange for providing additional classified information. Laatsch allegedly said he was “not opposed to other compensation,” but added that it wasn’t a necessity.

The FBI agent told Laatsch it was prepared to receive additional classified information a week later, and between May 15 and May 27, he allegedly “repeatedly transcribed multiple pages of notes while logged into his classified workstation, folded the notes and exfiltrated the classified information in his clothing,” the Justice Department said.

Laatsch was arrested at a prearranged location in northern Virginia on Thursday after he allegedly transmitted multiple classified documents to what he presumed to be a foreign government.