A former senate intelligence services assistant pleads guilty of lying about contact with a journalist

A former security director of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a veteran, pleaded guilty on Monday for lying to FBI agents about his contact with a reporter during an investigation into a leak, and said also admitted to having lied for talking to three other journalists.

James A. Wolfe, 57, pleaded guilty to a charge for lying on the use of encrypted email in October 2017 to inform the "Reporter 3" of a subpoena issued by the committee.

"Reporter No. 3" was not appointed by the court. Prosecutors agreed to file two more charges related to Wolfe's interactions with three other reporters. According to the context of the indictment, one of these reporters was Ali Watkins of The New York Times, who had a relationship with Wolfe and whose emails and phone records were then assigned to appear by the Department of Justice.

Wolfe was not accused of disclosing classified information, which his attorneys emphasized during the hearing of his plea. According to his plea agreement, he should be sentenced to a term of zero to six months, with a sentence of 20 December.

Wolfe, from Ellicott City, Maryland, became emotional several times during the hearing before US District Judge Ketanji B. Jackson, taking long breaks several times to acknowledge his guilt and his possible loss of rights as a criminal. He wiped his tears as he sat down after a conversation with the judge. Her voice cracked when she asked him when he was ready to make his decision.

"I'm guilty, your honor," Wolfe told the judge.

Wolfe On June 7, he was charged with three false statements about his contacts with journalists while he Director of Security Committee, whose duties include supervising the processing of secret and top secret information transmitted by the intelligence community for control purposes.

[Ex-Senate staffer faces charges in leak investigation]

In June, the government said Wolfe, who had served as a senator for nearly 30 years from 1987 to May, lied to FBI agents in December 2017 about repeated contact with four journalists., including through the use of encrypted email applications. He was also accused of lying by informing two reporters of non-public information about the cases brought before the committee.

"Jim accepted responsibility for his actions," his lawyers said in a statement at the end of the hearing."And chose to solve this question now so that he and his family can move forward with their lives." The lawyers, Preston Burton, Benjamin B. Klubes and Lauren Randell, said they would have more to say about Jim's "remarkable track record, nearly three decades of dedicated service to the Senate and intelligence services." when sentencing.

On October 17, 2017, the third reporter asked Wolfe, using the encrypted voice mail application, to provide contact information for a person summoned to appear before the intelligence committee, and Wolfe was obliged, according to the indictment. Later in the day, this reporter published an article revealing the subpoena. After the publication of the article, Wolfe congratulated the reporter, using Signal, telling him: "Good job!" And "I'm glad you got the scoop," said the indictment.