U.S. Air Force employee charged with disclosing classified information on dating website [Video]

A civilian U.S. Air Force employee has been charged with disclosing classified defence information to a woman he met on a foreign online dating platform, the Justice Department said on Monday.

David Franklin Slater, 63, was taken into custody in Nebraska on Friday on a three-count federal indictment. He was expected to make an initial court appearance on Tuesday.

The indictment accuses Slater of giving classified material by email and online messages about the Russia-Ukraine war to someone claiming to be a woman living in Ukraine.

That person, who called Slater her “secret agent” and “secret informant love,” was not identified by name in the indictment.

Slater, who retired as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army before joining the Air Force as a civilian employee, was assigned to U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, the Justice Department said.

If he is convicted at trial, Slater …