Indian-Origin Strategic Expert Ashley Tellis Arrested In US Over Top Secret Files, Know Who Is Ashley

15th October 2025 at 1:22 PM

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Prominent US analyst of Indian origin and longtime adviser on South Asia policy has been arrested for allegedly hoarding classified documents and meeting Chinese government officials.

New York : A prominent US analyst of Indian origin and longtime adviser on South Asia policy has been arrested for allegedly hoarding classified documents and meeting Chinese government officials. The Justice Department said Ashley Tellis, 64, unlawfully retained national defence information, including more than a thousand pages of top secret and secret documents found at his home in Vienna, Virginia.

He worked on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush and is listed in an FBI affidavit as an unpaid adviser to the State Department and a contractor with the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment. He is also a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank. A State Department official confirmed the arrest but declined further comment. The Pentagon said it does not comment on ongoing cases.

His arrest comes at a time when the Trump administration and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard have adopted a tough stance on the mishandling of classified material, pledging to prosecute offenders without exception. Mumbai-born Tellis studied at St. Xavier’s College before earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He also holds an MA in political science from the University of Chicago.

Court records allege that Tellis accessed, printed, and removed classified material from both Defense and State Department buildings in September and October 2025. Surveillance footage reportedly showed him leaving one facility with a leather briefcase after printing classified files related to US military aircraft capabilities. Investigators say Tellis cooperated during the search, unlocking a laptop with his fingerprint and providing keys to the filing cabinets.

One such meeting, according to the FBI, took place on September 15, 2025, at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. Agents said Tellis was seen arriving with a manila envelope that he no longer appeared to have when he left. Another dinner in April 2023, in the Washington, DC suburbs, was overheard by nearby patrons, who said Tellis and the Chinese officials discussed Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

Court filings also describe a September 2 meeting during which Tellis allegedly received a gift bag from Chinese officials. In a statement, US Attorney Lindsey Halligan for the Eastern District of Virginia said: We are fully focused on protecting the American people from all threats, foreign and domestic. The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens.

Notably, Tellis wrote on June 17 in Foreign Affairs that India’s push for a multipolar world may be more ambition than ability, warning that a host of challenges stood in the way. Tellis has written that on the economic front, India remains far behind China. Even if China’s economy slows to what he calls a “glacial” 2 per cent growth rate, India still won’t be able to catch up.