Saturday, March 29, 2025
FBI Arrests Indian-American Expert Ashley Tellis for Alleged Espionage for China; Classified Documents Seized
Washington | October 15, 2025 – 7:03 AM
In a stunning development, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Ashley J. Tellis, a prominent Indian-American foreign policy and national security expert, on charges of unauthorized possession of classified defense documents and alleged links with Chinese officials. The arrest has sent shockwaves through Washington’s diplomatic and intelligence circles, given Tellis’s long association with U.S. foreign and defense policy.
According to court affidavits reviewed by Hindustan Times, FBI agents raided Tellis’s residence in Vienna, Virginia, on Saturday, recovering over 1,000 pages of documents marked “Top Secret” and “Secret.”
The files were discovered in a locked basement office, containing filing cabinets, a desk, and multiple sealed black trash bags filled with classified materials.
On September 25, security footage allegedly showed Tellis printing hundreds of pages from a classified State Department system inside the Harry S. Truman Building. The documents related to “U.S. Air Force Tactics” were stored under a file named Econ Reform, then partially printed and deleted — a clear violation of federal security protocols.
On October 10, another surveillance video from the Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, reportedly captured Tellis leaving a secure facility with classified papers concealed inside a notepad, which he then slipped into a leather briefcase.
The FBI says this act, combined with other evidence, points to intentional removal and concealment of sensitive national defense information.
The FBI affidavit details multiple covert meetings between Tellis and Chinese government representatives at restaurants in Fairfax, Virginia, from September 2022 to September 2025.
In one meeting on September 15, 2022, he arrived carrying a manila envelope that he hadn’t brought in earlier. The discussions reportedly covered China-Iran relations, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and U.S.-Pakistan strategic dynamics.
During a later meeting in September 2025, Chinese officials presented Tellis with a red gift bag, raising further suspicion of foreign influence.
Born in Mumbai, Tellis holds degrees from St. Xavier’s College (University of Mumbai) and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago.
He served as a senior advisor to the U.S. State Department since 2001 and played a key role in negotiating the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement.
At the time of his arrest, he was working as a contractor with the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment and a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Previously, he served as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and South-West Asia at the National Security Council (NSC).
The FBI revealed that Tellis was scheduled to depart for Rome on October 11 for work-related travel with his family and return to the U.S. via Milan on October 27.
Agents executed the search warrant hours before his departure and confiscated a large volume of restricted materials.
As of this report, neither Carnegie Endowment nor Tellis’s legal representatives have issued a public statement regarding the charges.
Possible Charges:
Tellis faces prosecution under the Espionage Act for unlawful possession and transmission of national defense information. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
