Air Force Employee Charged with Relaying Classified Intel on Dating Site
Summary from the AllSides News Team
David Franklin Slater, a civilian U.S. Air Force employee, has been charged with sharing classified information about the Russia-Ukraine war on a foreign dating website.
Details: The Department of Justice says Slater, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, transmitted national defense information about the war with an unidentified foreign female co-conspirator. The woman referred to Slater as her “secret informant love” and thanked him for the “valuable information.” The classified information allegedly includes intelligence on military targets and Russian military capabilities. Slater was charged with conspiracy to share classified information and two counts of unauthorized disclosure of that information. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Key Quote: A Justice Department statement said Slater unlawfully transmitted classified information that “he had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, on a foreign online dating platform to a person not authorized to receive such information.”
For Context: Slater worked in the U.S. Strategic Command between August 2021 and April 2022. During this time, he was privy to top-secret briefings on the Russia-Ukraine war.
How the Media Covered It: The Hill (Center bias) opted not to include any excerpts from the text messages detailed in the indictment, whereas the New York Post (Lean Right bias) and New York Daily News (Left bias) did. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Air Force employee leaked classified secrets on dating app: feds
A civilian Air Force employee shared classified information about Russia’s war in Ukraine with a woman he met on a foreign dating app, federal investigators said.
David Slater, 63, worked at U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Neb., according to the Justice Department. Prior to his civilian work, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Army.
Slater met someone claiming to be a Ukrainian woman on an unspecified dating platform, the feds said. From February to April in 2022, Slater supplied the woman with top secret...
From the Center
Air Force civilian employee charged with relaying classified intel on Ukraine on dating site
A civilian employee of the U.S. Air Force has been charged with sharing classified information related to the Russia-Ukraine war on a foreign online dating website, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
The indictment alleges that David Franklin Slater, 63, transmitted national defense information about the war in Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform and over email with an unidentified alleged female co-conspirator. He was arrested Saturday for allegedly conspiring to transmit and transmitting classified information.
The indictment notes Slater was a civilian employee assigned to the United States Strategic...
From the Right
Air Force employee indicted for disclosing classified information on foreign dating site: ‘You are my secret informant love!’
A civilian US Air Force employee with a top secret security clearance used a foreign dating website to transmit classified national defense information to a person claiming to be a woman living in Ukraine, according to the Justice Department.
David Franklin Slater, 63, was arrested Saturday after being indicted on charges of conspiracy to disclose national defense information and unauthorized disclosure of national defense information.
He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Slater was assigned to US Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska when...
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