David Franklin Slater was probably hoping for love when he revealed sensitive information about the US nuclear weapons program on a dating website. The 63-year-old retired US Army colonel is said to have sent military secrets to his supposedly Ukrainian girlfriend for years, who wooed him with sweet messages.
“Dave, do NATO and Biden have a secret plan to help us?” it says. “My sweet Dave, thank you for the valuable information! It’s great that two officials from the USA are traveling to Kiev,” the alleged friend writes elsewhere. Or: “Dave, it’s great that you’re the first to get information about this country. I hope you’ll tell me right away? You’re my secret agent. With love.”
Slater and the unidentified person discussed the war in Ukraine via email and an online messaging platform. He was repeatedly pressured to reveal information about the national defense of the USA, various US media report, citing the indictment.
Slater got the military secrets from his work at Stratcom, the command of the US armed forces responsible for nuclear deterrence and command. There he also took part in top secret briefings about the war in Ukraine. While working at Stratcom, Slater had a top secret security clearance – and was actually trained in handling sensitive government information.
Then last week Slater was arrested. “People who have access to top secret information have certain responsibilities. The allegations against Mr. Slater call into question whether he betrayed those responsibilities,” said U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr. The information shared by Slater could cause “serious harm” to national security, the indictment says. The US soldier now faces up to ten years in prison.
Sources: CBS News, Daily Mail
