The Pentagon was rocked on Tuesday as the U.S. government arrested Ashley Tellis, a prominent international relations scholar and senior policy adviser, accusing him of unlawfully retaining classified “national defense information.”
In court filings, FBI officer Jeffrey Scott alleged that 64-year-old Tellis may have shared sensitive documents with officials from the People’s Republic of China on at least one occasion.
Authorities believe Tellis obtained classified documents from both the State Department and the Defense Department, copied them, and took them home. Officials reported discovering over a thousand pages of top-secret and secret materials at his residence in Vienna, Virginia.
On Oct. 11, a federal court approved a search warrant for Tellis’ Virginia home. Investigators reported finding over a thousand pages of documents marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” in multiple locations, including “a four-drawer locked filing cabinet in a closet in the basement home office, a two-drawer locked filing cabinet in the basement home office area, in the vicinity of a desk in the basement home office area and in three large black trash bags in an unfinished storage room in the basement.”
Based on the evidence recovered, Tellis was arrested over the weekend. Prosecutors say he violated 18 USC § 793(e), a law that forbids the unauthorized possession or retention of defense-related documents.
U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan announced the charges in a press release, saying the alleged actions posed “a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens.”
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If convicted, Tellis could face up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and forfeiture of the seized materials. According to The Hindu, he is currently free on bond while prosecutors prepare for further legal proceedings and a potential trial.
For reasons that remain unclear, Tellis has been under FBI surveillance since at least October 2022.
Court filings indicate that the international relations scholar met with officials from the People’s Republic of China on several occasions over the past few years. In one instance cited by the FBI, Tellis met multiple PRC officials at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. He arrived carrying a manila envelope, while the officials brought a gift bag. By the end of the meal, the filings note, Tellis no longer seemed to have the envelope with him.
The court filings also reference a meeting on April 11, 2023, between Tellis and PRC officials. During the dinner, the officials were reportedly heard discussing Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
On March 19, 2024, Tellis met again with PRC officials for dinner. After the meal, the group continued their discussion, reportedly touching on U.S.-Pakistan relations. In another meeting on Sept. 2, the PRC officials presented Tellis with a red gift bag.
Court filings indicate that following these meetings, the FBI intensified its surveillance of Tellis.
Court documents further reveal that on Sept. 12, Tellis entered Mark Center, a Department of Defense facility at 4800 Mark Center Drive in Alexandria, Virginia. The FBI states he was “videotaped entering a cubicle in the facility, where a junior colleague had already printed out multiple documents, including one marked ‘Top Secret.’” Later, on Sept. 25, Tellis reportedly accessed a file on combat aircraft used by adversaries through the U.S. State Department’s classified information system.
Later surveillance, court documents indicate, showed Tellis concealing printed pages of classified material among his notepads and taking them home.
Born in 1961 in Mumbai, Ashley Tellis earned his bachelor’s of art and master’s of art in economics from St. Xavier’s College before moving to the United States for further studies. He holds both an MA and a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago.
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Tellis built a career in international relations and diplomacy, eventually becoming a senior policy analyst at RAND Corporation, a U.S.-based global policy think tank and research institute. He also served as a professor of policy analysis at the RAND Graduate School. During his tenure, he authored India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture (RAND, 2001) and co-authored Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy: Past, Present, and Future (RAND, 2000).
Later, Tellis joined the U.S. Foreign Service and served as a senior adviser to U.S. Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill from 2001 to 2003. He also worked on the National Security Council staff as special assistant to President George W. Bush and as senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia.
Tellis is recognized as a key architect of the 2008 U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement under the George W. Bush administration. He played a central role in advancing the deal, collaborating with Indian diplomats including S. Jaishankar, now India’s external affairs minister. The agreement is widely regarded as a milestone in U.S.-India relations. In 2005, Tellis told the U.S. Congress that the deal acknowledges the strengthening ties by engaging India, which he said had demonstrated it was not a nuclear proliferation risk.
Over the years, Tellis has advised multiple U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush and Donald Trump, on defense, trade, and international strategy. In 2017, he was reportedly considered for the role of U.S. ambassador to India during Trump’s first term in office.
After leaving government service, Tellis continued to be a prominent voice in international relations. He holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and serves as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on international security and U.S. foreign and defense policy, with particular expertise on Asia and the Indian subcontinent.