Lawyers for Ashley Tellis, a prominent US scholar of India, stated that their client is denying all charges against him following his arrest on allegations of retaining classified documents and meeting with Chinese officials.
Ashley Tellis, 64, who held senior positions under former President George W. Bush and remained an unpaid advisor to the State Department, was arrested on Saturday and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
In a statement, Tellis's lawyers, Deborah Curtis and John Nassikas, said, “Ashley J Tellis is a widely respected scholar and senior policy advisor. We will be vigorously contesting the allegations brought against him, specifically any insinuation of his operating on behalf of a foreign adversary.”
A criminal affidavit made public on Tuesday revealed that Tellis entered the State Department late on September 25 and appeared to print from a secret document on US Air Force techniques. It further alleged that Tellis met repeatedly with Chinese officials at a restaurant in the Washington suburb of Fairfax, Virginia, and that at one dinner he appeared to leave behind a manila envelope.
The charges announced by the Justice Department relate specifically to improper handling of documents rather than the meetings themselves. An FBI special agent stated that a search of Tellis's home uncovered more than 1,000 pages of top-secret or secret documents.
Tellis has been a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading Washington think tank, which announced on Wednesday that he has been placed on administrative leave.
Tellis, a naturalised American originally from India, played a key role in negotiating the Bush administration's civil nuclear cooperation deal with India, a landmark step toward closer relations between the world's two largest democracies. However, in recent years, Tellis has emerged as a leading contrarian voice in Washington regarding India, arguing that New Delhi's interests were not aligned on a host of issues, including the Ukraine conflict.
Also Read: Indian-origin expert Ashley Tellis arrested over secret US files
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