A former United States government contractor has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to transmit national-defence information to Ethiopia, admitting that he removed highly classified material from secure systems and passed it to senior Ethiopian officials.
Abraham Teklu Lemma, 53, held a Top Secret clearance while working in information-technology roles at the National Reconnaissance Office, the State Department and the Justice Department. Under his plea agreement, he admitted collecting and transmitting dozens of documents, notes, photographs and other materials classified up to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level.
The conduct ran from 2021 until his arrest in August 2023. Much of the information concerned the armed conflict in Ethiopia. Prosecutors said Lemma’s contacts included figures in the country’s political, military and intelligence institutions, and that he sometimes encouraged action against paramilitary groups fighting the Ethiopian government.
Court papers describe several methods used to remove the information. Lemma copied classified material into handwritten notes and carried them out of secure facilities. In his role as an administrator, he also accessed electronic material in classified repositories and removed copies from the sites where he worked.
Lemma pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transmit national-defence information to a foreign government. The agreement provides for a prison term between 120 and 262 months if accepted by the court. Sentencing is scheduled for 14 April 2027, so the agreed range is not yet a sentence.
The Justice Department’s announcement and procedural details are available here.
