An ex-Senate Intelligence Committee security director was arrested Tuesday for allegedly lying to the FBI, who were investigating unauthorized intelligence leaks to reporters, the Justice Department revealed.
James A. Wolfe, 58, has been accused of repeatedly giving false statements to federal agents in December 2017, when he was asked about his communication with three reporters, reported CNBC. According to the indictment, the former U.S. Senate staffer also lied about giving two journalists classified information.
In 2017, Wolfe reportedly admitted to the FBI that he was untruthful in his statements about his personal relationship with a reporter, when he was confronted with photos of them together. However, he said he did not share confidential information with the person.
According to investigators Wolfe’s emails and phone data proved that the pair exchanged “tens of thousands of electronic communications.” One particular text message sent by Wolfe read: “I’ve watched your career take off even before you ever had a career in journalism… I always tried to give you as much information that I could and to do the right thing with it, so you could get that scoop before anyone else…”
Wolfe was the security director at the SSCI for three decades from 1987 to 2017 and reportedly managed all classified information, from the Executive Office to the panel. He left the organization in December and formally retired in May, reported the New York Times. Wolfe is scheduled to make his initial appearance on Friday morning at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.