Ashley J. Tellis, a prominent U.S. foreign policy scholar and defence strategist of Indian origin, has been arrested and charged with unlawfully retaining classified national defence information, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Tellis, 64, was taken into custody over the weekend following a federal investigation into his handling of restricted government material. Prosecutors allege that he violated 18 U.S.C. § 793(e), a statute that prohibits the unauthorised possession or retention of defence-related documents. Investigators are also examining allegations that Tellis removed classified materials from secure facilities and held meetings with Chinese officials.
U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan announced the charges, describing the alleged conduct as posing “a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens.” If convicted, Tellis faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and forfeiture of the materials involved. Prosecutors emphasised that the charges are allegations and that Tellis is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Tellis is widely regarded as one of Washington’s leading authorities on South Asian security and U.S.–India relations. He serves as a senior fellow and Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Over his career, he has held several influential government roles, including senior adviser to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, where he was instrumental in negotiating the U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement. He also served on the National Security Council as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia.
Before entering government service, Tellis was a senior policy analyst and professor at the RAND Corporation. His academic contributions include several influential books, such as Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia and Revising U.S. Grand Strategy Toward China. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
According to U.S. media reports, investigators are also scrutinising Tellis’s interactions with Chinese officials during academic and policy exchanges. While there is no suggestion of espionage at this stage, prosecutors say his handling of classified documents violated federal security protocols.
A federal judge is expected to set bond conditions later this week as the case moves forward.