Washington:
A former senior executive of the top secret National Security Agency (NSA) who allegedly leaked classified information to a newspaper reporter via email has been indicted on multiple charges, the Justice Department said on Thursday.
Thomas Drake, 52, was charged in a 10-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Maryland, the department said in a statement. Drake, who served as a high-ranking employee at the NSA between 2001 through 2008, is accused of illegally retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements, it said.
According to the Justice Department, Drake, of Glenwood, Maryland, provided information to a newspaper reporter for a series of articles published between February 2006 and November 2007. The indictment did not identify the reporter or the newspaper. It also did not identify the subject of the stories but said the reporter wrote "articles about the NSA and its intelligence activities, including SIGNIT programs."
NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, where Drake worked, is the main facility for SIGNET, or Signals Intelligence programs, which involve capturing and processing foreign communications for intelligence purposes.