Ex-Army Officer Guilty of Sharing Classified Russia-Ukraine Info on Dating Site
David Slater, working with the Air Force as a civilian, divulged information to someone claiming to be in Ukraine.
Alexey Furman/Getty Images
A retired Army lieutenant colonel working in the Air Force pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about the Russia-Ukraine war on a dating site.
David Slater, 64, entered his plea to a single count Thursday in Omaha, Nebraska, according to a Department of Justice press release. As part of the agreement, two other counts were dropped.
“I conspired to willfully communicate national defense information to an unauthorized person,” Slater wrote in a note while changing his plea, the Associated Press reported.
After retiring from the Army in 2020, Slater worked at Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base for about eight months, from around August 2021 to April 2022. There, he had top secret clearance and attended briefings designated as such on the Russia-Ukraine war.
A Ukrainian soldier of an artillery unit fires towards Russian positions outside Bakhmut on November 8, 2022.
BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
According to court documents, Slater conspired to share information from Strategic Command briefings on a foreign dating website with someone purporting to be a woman in Ukraine. This individual described Slater as her “secret agent,” and her “secret informant love.”
Court documents didn’t reveal the name of the dating website or the person Slater communicated with.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The indictment states that the co-conspirator wrote to Slater at one point, “Dear, what is shown on the screens in the special room?? It is very interesting.” Another message read: “Dave, I hope tomorrow NATO will prepare a very unpleasant ‘surprise’ for Putin! Will you tell me?” Slater replied by sharing information “regarding military targets and Russian military capabilities relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Slater was arrested in March 2024.
“Access to classified information comes with great responsibility,” U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods of Nebraska said in the press release. “David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person’s motives.”
Slater remains free until his October 8 sentencing, per the AP. The charge carries a 10-year maximum sentence, though prosecutors and Slater’s lawyer reportedly agreed on a term of between five years and ten months and seven years and three months.
Slater’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.