Ashley Tellis, a senior adviser to the U.S. State Department, has been accused of illegally removing classified documents from secure government facilities. Tellis, a well-known foreign policy expert and defense strategist of Indian origin, is also accused of holding meetings with Chinese officials dating back to 2023 — a matter that has drawn serious attention in Washington.

On October 14, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced that Ashley Tellis had been arrested and charged with “unlawfully retaining classified national defense information.” The arrest took place on October 11, after U.S. authorities carried out a search operation at his residence in Vienna, Virginia.

In an official statement, Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, confirmed the charges, stating that “Ashley Tellis of Vienna was arrested over the weekend and charged by criminal complaint with the unlawful retention of national defense information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e).”

Halligan further added, “We are fully focused on protecting the American people from all threats, foreign and domestic. The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens. The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

Tellis, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Indian origin, served as an unpaid senior adviser to the U.S. State Department. In addition, he worked as a contractor with the Office of Net Assessment (ONA) at the Department of Defense (DOD) — a role that gave him access to sensitive defense-related information.

According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Scott, Tellis held a Top Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) — the highest level of classified material handled by U.S. defense agencies.

Federal prosecutors claim that during the raid at Tellis’s Vienna home, investigators “located over a thousand pages of paper documents with classification markings at the Top Secret and/or Secret levels.” These discoveries suggest that the material in his possession contained information vital to national defense, now under detailed examination by federal authorities.

How Ashley Tellis removed classified documents from secure compartmented information facility

In 2001, Ashley Tellis signed a Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement with the U.S. government, legally binding him to safeguard all restricted material he handled. However, prosecutors allege that he violated this agreement by removing classified materials from a Secured Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) — a high-security area designed for handling sensitive national defense data.

Tellis’s actions first raised suspicion when he was captured on video surveillance inside the Mark Center, a Department of Defense facility in Virginia, on September 12, 2025. He was seen entering a SCIF used by the Office of Net Assessment (ONA). Computer logs later showed that Tellis used a workstation inside the facility and even had a co-worker print several classified documents for him.

The FBI affidavit recorded by Agent Scott noted, “Later that evening, after TELLIS departed, investigators located two Redweld file pockets, both labeled ‘TELLIS,’ in the cubicle TELLIS had used. The documents contained in the Redweld file pockets included the documents printed by the co-worker for TELLIS earlier that day, including a document classified at the TOP SECRET level.”

A second alleged incident occurred on September 25, when Tellis visited the Department of State’s HST building. He entered the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (Suite 5247) and logged into Classnet, the State Department’s SECRET-level computer system. He stayed there for about an hour before leaving, only to return later that evening with a leather briefcase.

Once inside, Tellis accessed a PDF file referencing adversary fighter aircraft and the year 2024. The 1,288-page file, which bore the U.S. Air Force seal, was clearly marked with classification labels such as SECRET//r Foreign Government Information/Risk Sensitive Notice/NOFORN//Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

According to the affidavit, Tellis re-saved the PDF under the name “Econ Reform,” attempted to print select pages (notably pages 59–172), but the printer malfunctioned. He then printed an unclassified government speech, reopened the classified file, printed pages 943–959, and immediately deleted the file from the system.

He subsequently opened another PDF document classified as “Secret” or “NOFORN” — referring to material that must not be shared with non-U.S. persons. The affidavit states, “At approximately 8:53 p.m., TELLIS opened a PDF document classified SECRET//NOFORN. The file opened as another U.S. Air Force Weapons School document concerning military aircraft. TELLIS printed all 40 pages of the document.”

Investigators allege that on October 10, Tellis returned to the Mark Center and entered the same SCIF suite used by ONA. Surveillance footage showed him arriving around 10:00 a.m. with the same leather briefcase. He removed several sheets from a Redweld file pocket, laid out what looked like a PowerPoint-style document (referred to as “Document A”), and reviewed it before leaving.

The FBI affidavit suggested that these papers were also highly classified, possibly the same ones printed during his earlier visit in September. According to the report, Tellis allegedly hid the printed materials within his notepads, placed them inside his briefcase, and then drove back to his home in Vienna, Virginia.

Relevant excerpts taken from the affidavit filed by the FBI agent before a federal court in Virginia

Ashley Tellis and His China Connections — What the Court Documents Reveal

Over the past several years, Ashley Tellis is said to have met with officials of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on multiple occasions, according to federal court filings. One meeting of note took place on 15 September 2022, when Tellis and several PRC officials dined together at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. At this dinner, Tellis arrived carrying a manila envelope, while the Chinese officials entered with a gift bag. Prosecutors allege that Tellis handed over the envelope to PRC officials during the meeting.

On 11 April 2023, Tellis again met Chinese officials at a Virginia restaurant. During that dinner, conversations were “overheard” discussing Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. In March 2024, another meeting is reported in which Tellis and the PRC officials discussed U.S.-Pakistan relations.

In a more recent meeting, on 2 September 2025, just days before Tellis is alleged to have begun removing classified documents, he and the Chinese officials dined together again. On that occasion, the officials allegedly presented Tellis a red gift bag.

Search of Tellis’s Home — Discovery of Classified Documents

Following a court‐approved order, investigators conducted a search at Tellis’s residence in Vienna, Virginia, on 11 October. During that search, agents uncovered over a thousand pages of paper documents marked with classification labels at either the top secret or secret levels. These documents were found scattered across multiple spots in the house.

The affidavit provides detail: “The documents were generally found in four locations: (1) a four-drawer locked filing cabinet in a closet in the basement home office area; (2) a two-drawer locked filing cabinet in the basement home office area; (3) in the vicinity of a desk in the basement home office area; and (4) in three large black trash bags in an unfinished storage room in the basement,” it states. The affidavit further adds that agents recovered a document marked “secret” in the basement home office zone.

Under the law, if convicted, Tellis could face up to ten years in prison.

Source: OSF website

Ashley Tellis’s Profile and Controversial History

Ashley Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). The Carnegie think tank, it is noted in the filings, has received funding from George Soros’s Open Society Foundation (OSF). Reports say OSF has provided many grants over time, numbering around 40 such grants, and that in 2024, OSF gave $3,000,000 to CEIP “to provide general support.”

During the George W. Bush administration, Tellis was Senior Adviser to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. He is credited with playing a key role in negotiating the U.S.-India civil nuclear deal. He also worked as research director at the Strategic Institute of the U.S. Army War College.

Tellis has long ties to the RAND Corporation, too. Before moving fully into government work, he was a senior policy analyst there, and RAND itself has received funding from the Open Society Foundations for some projects.

In Indian media circles, especially in left-liberal outlets, Tellis has drawn favorable attention. Among them, Newsclick (a portal accused of receiving Chinese funding and violating FCRA rules) and The Wire have often given him a platform. Tellis has appeared in interviews (for instance, with Karan Thapar) and has penned opinion pieces critical of the Modi government.

In his writings and interviews, he has frequently argued that India should abandon its stance of strategic autonomy and instead align more closely with the U.S. as a “junior partner” against China. As a contributor to Foreign Affairs, Tellis published a piece titled “India’s Great Power Delusions,” in which he claimed India’s belief in multipolarity and strategic autonomy “may not be effective or even realistic.”

During the May conflict (following terrorist attacks in Pahalgam), he also amplified a Pakistani claim (without evidence) that an Indian fighter jet was shot down using Chinese defense systems, which he linked to China’s role.

Excerpt from Ashley Tellis’s article in Foreign Affairs magazine

He has also criticized India’s political climate. In December 2023, Tellis told Nikkei Asia, “It would be a mistake for New Delhi to conclude that India’s importance to the U.S. strategy for balancing against China gives India the latitude to unilaterally target U.S. citizens.” He made this comment in relation to an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Now, with his arrest over the alleged removal of classified documents and possible espionage for China, the case has sent ripples through Washington’s foreign policy circles and stirred debate in India over his long record of criticism toward the Modi government.