'Astonishing': FBI analyst charged with removing classified documents for over a decade
An FBI intelligence analyst has been charged with removing caches of classified documents, including sensitive information on government informants and national defense, for more than a decade and storing them at her home.
The indictment unsealed against Kendra Kingsbury, 48, of Dodge City, Kansas, charged her with two counts of unauthorized possession of national defense documents. The charges did not include allegations that the analyst had shared the information.
Kingsbury is scheduled for arraignment June 1 in Kansas City, Missouri. An attorney for the analyst could not be reached for comment.
"The breadth and depth of classified national security information retained by the defendant for more than a decade is simply astonishing,” said Alan E. Kohler, Jr. assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The defendant, who's well trained in handling classified information, put her country’s sensitive secrets at risk."
According to court documents, Kingsbury, who was assigned to the FBI's Kansas City Division, began removing the documents beginning in 2004 and continued through December of 2017, when was placed on suspension.
Many of the documents, prosecutors claimed, "describe intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts to defend against counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyber threats."
"The documents include details on the FBI’s nationwide objectives and priorities, including specific open investigations across multiple field offices," prosecutors claimed. "In addition, there are documents relating to sensitive human source operations in national security investigations, intelligence gaps regarding hostile foreign intelligence services and terrorist organizations, and the technical capabilities of the FBI against counterintelligence and counterterrorism targets."
Some of the material, according to court documents, provided information about terror operatives affiliated with al-Qaeda and a "suspected associate" of the group's leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed 10 years ago by U.S. forces in Pakistan.
"In addition, there are documents regarding the activities of emerging terrorists and their efforts to establish themselves in support of al-Qaeda in Africa," prosecutors charged.
"Kingsbury was not authorized to remove and retain these sensitive government materials, nor did she have a need to know most, if not all, of the information contained in those materials," Justice officials said. "Kingsbury knew the unauthorized removal of classified materials and transportation and storage of those materials in unauthorized locations risked disclosure and transmission of those materials, and therefore could endanger the national security of the United States and the safety of its citizens."
Kingsbury worked as an intelligence analyst for more than 12 years in Kansas City until her suspension in 2017. During her tenure, she was assigned to drug trafficking, violent crime, criminal gangs, and counterintelligence squads.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FBI intelligence analyst charged with removing classified documents
