US Contractor Accused of Leaking Classified Data to Girlfriend's Substack

The U.S. Justice Department has accused a government contractor of leaking classified national defense information to his girlfriend, who publishes a Substack newsletter. The FBI arrested Ian Brinksman, 42, on Friday following a search of his Washington home.

Prosecutors have charged Brinksman with unlawfully transmitting national defense information. John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, stated in a Justice Department release, "As alleged, Brinksman reached far outside his own duties to obtain some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets and handed them to a romantic partner he knew intended to publish them." Eisenberg added, "That is not carelessness. It is a betrayal of his oath and the American people who entrusted him to fulfill his duties honorably."

According to the Justice Department, Brinksman held a top secret security clearance. He worked as an employee of a U.S. government agency and later as a developer for systems integration for a private contractor serving the same agency. Prosecutors allege that Brinksman repeatedly accessed classified intelligence reports and then communicated with the journalist.

An affidavit filed by an FBI agent investigating the case cites phone records, database access logs, badge-swipe records, emails, and other evidence. The affidavit identifies the journalist as "Individual 1" but includes excerpts from articles she published.

One excerpt from a September 2026 article states, "Over the past year [Individual 1 has] published reporting based on classified [relevant US government agency] assessments that I believe the public deserves to know about." This quote appears in a September 28 piece published on the Capital & Empire online newsletter authored by Aída Chávez.

Chávez, whose profile notes previous work for The Nation and other outlets before launching her newsletter, reportedly published at least five articles in 2026 that mirrored top-secret reports, some at the top-secret level. Some of these articles cited classified reports, including some attributed to the CIA.

According to a LinkedIn profile, Brinksman worked for Deloitte as a manager and senior strategy security consultant. Before that, he served as a U.S. State Department foreign service officer during periods corresponding to those outlined in the Justice Department's statement. Deloitte and the State Department did not immediately comment on the allegations.