A former CIA analyst was sentenced to over three years in prison on Wednesday for obtaining highly classified information and giving it to people who were not authorized.

Asif Rahman was arrested in November 2024 for taking “Top Secret National Defense Information” and sending it to “people who were not entitled to receive it” in October 2024, the Department of Justice announced. The information Rahman obtained was reportedly highly classified information about a planned attack by Israel on Iran. Shortly after distributing this, it was posted on a social media platform later that month.

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In January 2025, about two months after his arrest, the DOJ reported that Rahman pleaded guilty to his transgressions.

“Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” said Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

“Asif Rahman is pleading guilty in federal court three months to the day that he disclosed top secret American documents in violation of his oath, his responsibility, and the law,” U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia said at the time. “Mr. Rahman’s actions placed lives at risk, undermined U.S. foreign relations, and compromised our ability to collect vital intelligence in the future.”

Rahman received 37 months in prison for “unlawfully retaining and transmitting Top Secret National Defense Information to people who were not entitled to receive it.”

Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, said Rahman violated the law and betrayed his responsibility as a government employee. 

“By stealing and divulging classified information and then attempting to conceal his crimes, Asif Rahman not only violated the law; he also betrayed his oath as a government employee and his responsibility to the American people,” Rozhavsky said. “Now he will pay the price for putting American lives and U.S. national security at risk.” 

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He issued another warning to anyone else who had thoughts of trying to share vital private information illegally.

“Let this be a warning to all clearance holders: The FBI will exhaust all avenues to find and bring to justice anyone — no matter who they are — who endangers our nation by disclosing sensitive information without authorization,” Rozhavsky warned.