Latest news with #MarkEsper
CTV News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Retired U.S. army officer pleads guilty to sharing classified info on Russia-Ukraine war on dating site
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper holds a Q&A session during a visit to the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt AFB, Neb., Feb. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) A retired U.S. army officer who worked as a civilian for the U.S. air force has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about Russia's war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform. David Slater, 64, who had top secret clearance at his job at the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, pleaded guilty to a single count before a federal magistrate judge in Omaha on Thursday. In exchange for his guilty plea, two other counts were dropped. Slater remains free pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 8. Prosecutors and his lawyers agreed that he should serve between five years and 10 months and seven years and three months in prison, and the government will recommend a term at the low end of that range. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years behind bars. U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher will ultimately decide whether to accept the plea agreement and will determine Slater's sentence. 'I conspired to willfully communicate national defense information to an unauthorized person,' Slater said in a handwritten note on his petition to change his plea. Slater had access to some of the country's most closely held secrets, John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. 'Access to classified information comes with great responsibility,' said Lesley Woods, the U.S. attorney for Nebraska, said in the same statement. 'David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person's motives.' Slater retired from the U.S. army as a lieutenant colonel in 2020 and worked in a classified space at the base from around August 2021 until around April 2022. He attended briefings about the Russia-Ukraine war that were classified up to top secret, court documents say. He was arrested in March of 2024. In his plea agreement, he acknowledged that he conspired to transmit classified information that he learned from those briefings via the foreign dating website's messaging platform to an unnamed co-conspirator, who claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine. The information, classified as secret, pertained to military targets and Russian military capabilities, according to the plea agreement. 'Defendant knew and had reason to believe that such information could be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation,' the agreement states. According to the original indictment, the co-conspirator regularly asked Slater for classified information. She called him, 'my secret informant love!' in one message. She closed another by saying, 'You are my secret agent. With love.' In another, she wrote, 'Dave, I hope tomorrow NATO will prepare a very pleasant 'surprise' for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin! Will you tell me?' Court documents don't identify the co-conspirator, or say whether she was working for Ukraine or Russia. They also don't identify the dating platform. Amy Donato, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Omaha, said Monday that she couldn't provide that information. Slater's attorney, Stuart Dornan, didn't immediately return a call seeking further details. By Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran's Regime Is Still Dangerous, Says Esper
Mark Esper, former US Defense Secretary, says Iran's regime is still dangerous and could respond to the US airstrikes. He also talks about 900 pounds of missing uranium from Iran, the capability of the US military and what could happen if Iran tries to close the Strait of Hormuz. He speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Corrects spelling of guest's name in headline.) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
23-06-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
Upcoming negotiations with Iran will be tough, says Fmr. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
Mark Esper, Fmr. Secretary of Defense, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk Iran's latest missile strike on U.S. targets in the Middle East.
Bloomberg
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Iran's Regime Is Still Dangerous, Says Espser
Mark Esper, former US Defense Secretary, says Iran's regime is still dangerous and could respond to the US airstrikes. He also talks about 900 pounds of missing uranium from Iran, the capability of the US military and what could happen if Iran tries to close the Strait of Hormuz. He speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
23-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Surveillance TV: June 23, 2025
- Norman Roule, Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic & International Studies - Daan Struyven, Head: Commodity Research at Goldman Sachs - Mark Esper, former US Secretary of Defense - Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Norman Roule, Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, discusses the US strikes on Iran and what's next for conflict in the Middle East. Daan Struyven, Head: Commodity Research at Goldman Sachs, offers his outlook for oil and global commodities in the wake of the US' attack on Iran. Mark Esper, former US Secretary of Defense, talks about the strategy aimed at weakening Iran's nuclear capabilities and whether early indications show the US achieved its objectives. Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, talks about Israel's position in the Middle East after the US' strike on Iran.
