Ashley J. Tellis, an India-born American foreign-policy scholar and senior consultant with the U.S. State Department, was arrested after federal agents charged him with unlawfully retaining classified defence documents and identified undisclosed meetings with Chinese officials. Court filings in the Eastern District of Virginia allege that Mr. Tellis removed sensitive materials from secure government facilities and stored them at his residence in Vienna, Virginia.
The Department of Justice has charged him with one count of unlawful retention of national defence information under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, a statute that carries a maximum prison term of ten years; the complaint notes that it is an accusation and that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
From Mumbai to Washington’s policy circles
Born in Mumbai in 1961, Mr. Tellis completed his undergraduate and master’s studies in economics at St. Xavier’s College, Bombay, and later earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago. He worked in academia and at the RAND Corporation before entering public service. In 1989 he joined the U.S. Foreign Service and served in a number of policy positions, including as a senior adviser at the American embassy in New Delhi. During the George W. Bush administration he held posts on the National Security Council staff, serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Southwest Asia, positions from which he helped shape U.S. policy toward South Asia.
