Former US contractor pleads guilty to leaking classified intelligence to Ethiopia

An Ethiopian-born American citizen has pleaded guilty to passing highly classified intelligence to Ethiopian officials, including material prosecutors said he hoped would help target fighters during the country's civil war. Abraham Teklu Lemma, a former US contractor, admitted sharing dozens of classified documents and photographs over more than two years. The case centres on information taken from secure US government facilities and sent to senior figures in Ethiopia's political, military and intelligence establishments.

According to the US Department of Justice, the 54-year-old worked as a contractor at the State Department, the Justice Department and the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates US intelligence satellites. Prosecutors said he used his position as an IT administrator to extract electronic intelligence files and also removed classified material physically from secure buildings. In some cases, they said, he copied sensitive information into handwritten notes and carried them out of the facilities.

He was arrested in August 2023 after working with Ethiopian officials between 2021 and that point. The material he passed on included satellite imagery and details of military activity, which prosecutors said were transmitted through encrypted messages. The FBI said Ethiopian officials later used intelligence supplied by Lemma in military operations.

Prosecutors also said he hoped the information would help Ethiopia's military identify and kill paramilitary fighters. In one message to an Ethiopian official in December 2021, he wrote: "We have to finish these people once and for all, otherwise there will never be peace in Ethiopia," according to court papers. Later that day, he sent further intelligence and urged the official to "Please send drones." The plea adds a national-security dimension to a conflict that already caused severe humanitarian damage.

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The civil war in Ethiopia in 2020 killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, according to the material in the case. Intelligence leaks tied to an active conflict can have direct battlefield consequences, especially when they involve satellite imagery and military assessments. The case also highlights the sensitivity of US intelligence systems and the risks posed when a contractor with access to multiple federal agencies abuses that access.

The guilty plea also underscores the role of the National Reconnaissance Office, a little-seen but important part of the US intelligence apparatus. Because the agency is responsible for US intelligence satellites, any compromise involving its material can raise concerns about how classified imagery is handled and shared. The case further involves the State Department and the Justice Department, showing that the alleged conduct crossed several parts of the federal system.

US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said Lemma had "betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country," while assistant attorney general John Eisenberg said he had betrayed the United States "to an extraordinary degree." Lemma faces up to 22 years in prison under a plea agreement, with sentencing scheduled for next April. What remains unclear from the court material is the full extent of the damage caused by the disclosures and how much of the intelligence was operationally useful to Ethiopian forces. It is also not clear whether any other people were involved in the transfer of information or whether further charges could follow.

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