Former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for the unlawful retention and transmission of Top Secret National Defense Information to individuals unauthorized to receive it. This information was subsequently posted publicly on social media platforms in October 2024.
According to court documents, Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Virginia, had been employed by the CIA since 2016 and possessed a Top Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) until his employment was terminated following his arrest.
Some media reports have suggested that Rahman was born in California and raised in Ohio. He allegedly leaked classified information concerning Israeli plans to attack Iran, following Tehran’s missile strike on Israel on October 1.
“For months, this defendant betrayed the American people and the oaths he took upon entering his office by leaking some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets,” stated John Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “As this case demonstrates, the Department of Justice will continue to protect our nation by vigorously investigating and prosecuting leakers who compromise our nation’s security,” Eisenberg remarked.
“Rahman violated his position of trust by illegally accessing, removing, and transmitting Top Secret documents vital to the national security of the United States and its allies,” said Erik S. Siebert, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The urgency with which Rahman was identified, arrested, charged, and prosecuted is a testament to the commitment and professionalism of the investigators and prosecutors who brought him to justice. This case should serve as a stern warning to those who choose to place their own goals over their allegiance to our nation,” Siebert maintained.
“By stealing and divulging classified information and then attempting to conceal his crimes, Rahman not only violated the law; he also betrayed his oath as a government employee and his responsibility to the American people,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Now he will pay the price for putting American lives and US national security at risk. Let this be a warning to all clearance holders: The FBI will exhaust all avenues to find and bring to justice anyone—no matter who they are—who endangers our nation by disclosing sensitive information without authorization,” Rozhavsky remarked.
According to the Department of Justice (DoJ): “On October 17, 2024, Rahman accessed and printed two Top Secret documents containing National Defense Information regarding a US foreign ally and its planned actions against a foreign adversary. Rahman removed the documents, photographed them, and transmitted them to individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them.” However, the individuals who received the documents were not named.
By October 18, 2024, the documents appeared publicly on social media platforms, complete with their classification markings. The DoJ states that after October 17, 2024, Rahman engaged in a deletion campaign of work products on his Top Secret workstation.
Throughout 2024, continuing into November, Rahman repeatedly accessed and printed classified National Defense Information, including documents classified up to Top Secret and further compartmented levels. He obtained this information during the course of his employment and transmitted it to multiple individuals he knew were not authorized recipients.
Rahman was indicted by a grand jury on November 7, 2024. He had been arrested earlier in Cambodia, where he was working at the US Embassy in Phnom Penh. On January 17, 2025, Rahman pleaded guilty to two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to national defense. He has remained in custody since his arrest.
Rahman’s sentencing coincides with the Iranian intelligence minister’s claim that his country possesses a “treasure trove” of secret information concerning Israeli nuclear facilities and its relationship with the West. Esmail Khatib has vowed to make these public soon.
