Former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for unlawfully retaining and transmitting Top Secret national defense information to unauthorized individuals — some of which later surfaced on social media in October 2024.
According to court filings, Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Virginia, worked for the CIA beginning in 2016 and held a Top Secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) until his arrest led to his termination.
Media reports suggest Rahman was born in California and raised in Ohio. He allegedly leaked classified intelligence about Israeli plans to strike Iran, following Iran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1, 2024.
“For months, this defendant betrayed the American people and the oaths he took upon entering office by leaking some of our nation’s most closely held secrets,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg. “This case demonstrates our unwavering commitment to pursuing and prosecuting individuals who compromise U.S. national security.”
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, emphasized Rahman’s breach of trust. “Rahman illegally accessed, removed, and transmitted Top Secret documents critical to the national security of the United States and its allies. His swift arrest and prosecution reflect the dedication of our investigative teams.”
Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division added, “Rahman not only broke the law—he broke his oath. His actions put American lives at risk and undermined our national security. This sentence should send a clear message to all who hold security clearances: unauthorized disclosure of classified information will be met with relentless pursuit.”
The Leak and Its Fallout
According to the Department of Justice, Rahman accessed and printed two Top Secret documents on October 17, 2024. These documents involved a U.S. foreign ally’s planned military actions against a hostile nation. He removed, photographed, and transmitted the materials to individuals he knew were not authorized to receive them.
By the next day, October 18, the classified documents appeared publicly on social media, complete with original classification markings. The DOJ further revealed that Rahman subsequently launched a deletion campaign on his Top Secret workstation, erasing work-related materials to conceal his actions.
The illegal disclosures didn’t stop there. In the weeks that followed, Rahman continued to access and transmit additional classified documents, including those marked at the highest compartmented levels.
Rahman was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 7, 2024. He was arrested in Cambodia — where he had been stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh — and extradited to the United States. On January 17, 2025, he pleaded guilty to two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.
He has remained in federal custody since his arrest. The identities of the recipients of the leaked documents have not been publicly disclosed.
