A former U.S. government contractor pleaded guilty to spying for Ethiopia after exploiting his top-secret security clearance for more than two years — raising questions about safeguards protecting U.S. national security secrets.
Ibraham Teklu Lemma, 54, admitted to conspiring with senior Ethiopian officials to transmit highly classified intelligence obtained through his work at the State Department, Justice Department and National Reconnaissance Office between 2021 and his arrest in Aug. 2023, according to a Tuesday Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. His Nov. 3 guilty plea comes amidst at least four other current or former government officials and contractors facing charges or scrutiny for leaking in the past two weeks, drawing attention to possible shortcomings in how Washington determines who has access to sensitive intelligence.
Case update from @FBIWFO: Former U.S. Government Contractor Pleads Guilty to Spying for Ethiopia
— FBI (@FBI) November 3, 2026
Abraham Teklu Lemma, 53, of Maryland, a former information technology contractor at the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of… pic.twitter.com/aNv1UsQEOE
The DOJ did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation's request for comment. (RELATED: D.C. Judge Dismisses Case Against Ex-FBI Official Who Bragged About Running 'Shadow Government' Before 2020 Election)
"For more than two years, Lemma exploited a position of trust to provide highly classified U.S. government information to a foreign government," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in the DOJ press release. "In doing so, he betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country, while jeopardizing our national security. His guilty plea sends a clear message: those who compromise America's most sensitive secrets will be investigated, prosecuted, and held accountable."
Lemma held a top-secret security clearance while he worked as an IT systems administrator, which he exploited to transmit intelligence classified up to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) level concerning Ethiopian armed conflict to Ethiopian officials, per the DOJ.
This does not appear to be an isolated incident.
Authorities arrested former CIA contractor Ian Brinksman on Oct. 23 for leaking classified information to his journalist girlfriend.
Thomas Ashbacher, a former government contractor who worked with United States Special Operations Command, "photographed and removed without authorization videos and photographs containing images of classified military operations and transmitted the materials to a social media site" prior to his Oct. 27 arrest, per the DOJ.
Additionally, former FBI director James Comey was indicted over leaking national security information to the press. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired General Brett Sylvia for leaking classified information pertaining to the Iran War and Russo-Ukrainian War.
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