Air Force contractor, 62, is accused of giving Top Secret information about Russian military capabilities to his Ukrainian girlfriend through dating app

A civilian U.S. Air Force employee has been charged with passing classified information about Russia’s war with Ukraine to his Ukrainian girlfriend, a woman he met on a foreign online dating platform.

David Franklin Slater, 63, who authorities say retired as an Army lieutenant colonel and is assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, was arrested Saturday on charges of illegally disclosing national defense information and conspiracy.

Federal prosecutors in Nebraska say Slater had a top secret security clearance from August 2021 to April 2022 and attended briefings between February and April 2022 on Russia’s war with Ukraine, the Justice said Monday.

Despite signing paperwork promising not to release classified information, he allegedly deliberately and inappropriately shared details about military targets and Russian capabilities on an online dating platform with an unindicted co-conspirator who claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine lived.

The co-conspirator has been called Slater’s “secret informant crush” and described him as her “secret agent.”

Court documents show that she took a keen interest in the progress of the war and what possible future plans might be.

Authorities have identified at least nine messages in which the woman asked for specific details about the military operation.

“US intelligence says that 100% of Russian troops are already on Ukrainian territory. Do you think this information can be trusted?’ the woman asks on March 7.

Four days later, she is seen asking for details about the data displayed in one of the offices.

‘Dear, what can be seen on the screens in the special room? It’s very interesting,” she wrote.

‘By the way, you were the first to tell me that NATO members travel by train and only now (already in the evening) was this announced on our news. You are my secret informant love! How were your meetings? Successfully?’ the woman confirms.

A week later, the woman, probably in Ukraine, writes: “Dear Dave, do NATO and Biden have a secret plan to help us?”

She later compliments Dave for providing such detailed intelligence information.

‘Dave, it’s great that you’re getting information about (Specified Country 1) first. I hope you tell me right away? You are my secret agent. With love.’

The following month, on April 12, the messages are still focused on the war effort.

“Dear Dave, the supply of weapons is completely secret, that’s great!” the woman writes.

“My dear Dave, thank you for the valuable information, it’s great that two officials from the US are going to Kiev.” she writes days later.

The woman regularly requested sensitive, non-public, closely guarded and classified NDI, which was labeled “SECRET.”

‘Dave, I hope NATO is preparing a very unpleasant ‘surprise’ for Putin tomorrow! Do you want to tell me?’ she asks to know later in April.

Finally, before his access was revoked, the woman messages, “You have a job at the Operations Center today, I remember, I’m sure there’s a lot of interesting news there?”

According to the indictment, that alleged co-conspirator, who is not identified by prosecutors, repeatedly asked Slater for information and described him as “my secret informant crush.”

Slater is said to have provided the classified information, including details of military targets and Russian military capabilities related to the invasion of Ukraine.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division emphasized the serious nature of the allegations.

‘Mr. Slater, a civilian employee of the Air Force and a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, knowingly passed classified national defense information to another person in blatant disregard for the security of his country and his oath to keep its secrets safe couples.’

The Department of Justice has said it is committed to holding individuals accountable for intentionally disclosing classified information that endangers national security.

U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr for the District of Nebraska similarly emphasized the seriousness of the responsibilities associated with access to top secret information.

‘Certain responsibilities lie with individuals who have access to top secret information. The allegations against Mr. Slater challenge whether he breached these responsibilities.”

Lehr also expressed her commitment to working with investigative agencies to ensure the country’s security.

The FBI Omaha Field Office, along with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, are actively investigating the case.

Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel of the FBI Omaha Field Office underscored the FBI’s commitment to investigating individuals who abuse their access to classified information, emphasizing that such actions pose a risk to national security.

“When people violate the trust given to them to protect our country’s intelligence, they endanger our country,” Kowel said.

Slater will make his first court appearance on Tuesday in the district of Nebraska.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 on each charge related to the conspiracy to transmit and transmit national defense information.