A Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) IT specialist is scheduled to appear in court today after being caught by the FBI trying to surreptitiously drop top secret information to a foreign government in a public park.

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was the subject of an FBI investigation after law enforcers claim they received a tip that Laatsch had advertised his willingness to transmit intelligence to a “friendly foreign government” back in March.

According to the DoJ, Laatsch is alleged to have stated that he did not “agree or align with the values of this administration and intend to act to support the values that the United States at one time stood for.” He was therefore “willing to share classified information,” feds are claiming.

The IT worker joined the DIA in 2019, held a top secret security clearance, and was part of its Insider Threat Division, which is dedicated to weeding out government personnel that is leaking or could likely leak sensitive information to foreign powers.

“I’ve given a lot of thought to this before any outreach, and despite the risks, the calculus has not changed,” an affidavit submitted by the FBI agent investigating [PDF] said Laatsch wrote: “I do not see the trajectory of things changing, and do not think it is appropriate or right to do nothing when I am in this position.”

In an email to a “friendly” foreign government that the FBI claims to have intercepted, the techie is alleged to have confessed that he had access to the classified information, including “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation.”

The FBI then posed as representatives of the foreign government, the document claims, and at agents’ request, Laatsch is said to have exfiltrated and transcribed classified files at his work desk over the course of around three days.

Laatsch allegedly loaded up the files onto a USB drive and with the FBI arranged a drop to be made in a public park in northern Virginia on May 1, secret-agent-movie style, for it to be picked up by his foreign contact.

The FBI did indeed retrieve the drive, and alleged that upon inspection agents found it contained information that was classified up to secret and top secret levels. 

According to the Department of Justice, announcing his arrest this week, Laatsch told agents that he provided “a decent sample size” of the type of documents to which he had access, and said he would be receptive to compensation. 

He allegedly expressed that his ideal outcome would be to receive citizenship from this foreign government, but also that he was “not opposed to other compensation,” despite saying he wasn’t in a position where he needed it.

Laatsch is said to have gone on to make a second drop after transcribing many more pages of notes while logged into his classified workstation. He folded the paper and kept it inside his clothing, and was arrested on May 29 at a pre-arranged location after transmitting the documents to the FBI.

FBI director Kash Patel said via X: “This case underscores the persistent risk of insider threats. The FBI remains steadfast in protecting our national security and thanks our law enforcement partners for their critical support.” ®