Indian American Foreign Policy Expert Ashley Tellis Arrested. Faces Espionage Act Charges

Ashley Tellis, 64, of Vienna, Virginia, was arrested over the weekend of October 11-13, 2025, and charged with the unlawful retention of national defense information, sending shockwaves through Washington’s foreign policy establishment. The arrest of this Mumbai-born naturalized U.S. citizen marks a stunning fall for one of America’s most respected voices on U.S.-India relations.

Tellis has been charged with violating 18 U.S. Code § 793, which pertains to gathering, transmitting or losing defense information. According to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, appointed by President Donald Trump, the charges “represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens.”

The evidence against Tellis emerged from extensive surveillance and a subsequent FBI search. An affidavit dated October 13 revealed that more than a thousand pages of classified materials — several marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” — were recovered from various parts of Tellis’s Virginia home, including three trash bags.

On September 12, 2025, video surveillance captured Tellis at the Department of Defense’s Mark Center in Alexandria, where he had a co-worker print multiple classified documents, including one at the “TOP SECRET” level. Investigators allege more troubling behavior followed. On September 25, Tellis entered a U.S. Department of State building in Washington, D.C., and logged onto the department’s classified intranet system, ClassNet, which he used for around an hour.

Federal investigators said that on September 25, Tellis accessed a classified State Department system and opened a 1,288-page U.S. Air Force manual labelled “Secret”. According to the court filing, he renamed the file “Econ Reform” to disguise it, printed hundreds of pages and deleted the file. He also allegedly printed two 40-page Air Force documents on military aircraft capabilities, both marked “Secret.”

On October 10, Tellis was observed hiding these documents – believed to include the top-secret material – inside notepads and placing them in his leather briefcase before leaving the facility and driving home.

The Chinese Connection

Perhaps most concerning to federal investigators are Tellis’s alleged contacts with Chinese officials. The affidavit alleges that Tellis has met with Chinese officials multiple times in recent years, with at least four documented encounters since 2022.

The U.S.-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace lists Tellis as its Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow. He was instrumental in negotiating the landmark U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement during the George W. Bush administration in 2008.

Tellis is alleged to have met Chinese officials for dinner at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia in September 2022. He is alleged to have entered the restaurant holding a manila envelope, which he did not seem to have with him when he left two hours later. In April 2023, he met Chinese officials again, and they could be “occasionally overheard talking about Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.”.

Tellis is said to have met Chinese officials again in March 2024, when they were heard talking about U.S.-Pakistan relations. At their most recent meeting on September 2, 2025, Chinese officials gave Tellis a red gift bag, the affidavit alleged.

It’s important to note that while these meetings have raised suspicions, espionage charges have not been filed against Tellis at this time.

A Distinguished Career

The arrest is particularly jarring given Tellis’s prominent position in Washington’s foreign policy circles. Tellis has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Mumbai in India, as well as a Ph.D and master’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago.

Tellis has held top-level security clearance since 2001. He served as an unpaid senior adviser at the State Department and as a contractor with the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment. The Office of Net Assessment is an internal think tank within the Pentagon. He served on the National Security Council of former Republican President George W Bush, who was in office between 2001 and 2009.

The U.S.-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace lists Tellis as its Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow. He was instrumental in negotiating the landmark U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement during the George W. Bush administration in 2008.

Timing and Context

Court documents revealed that on the day of the search, Tellis and his family were scheduled to fly to Rome. The State Department confirmed to news agencies that Tellis was arrested on October 11, 2025, adding that “as this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further on the case.”

The arrest comes during what some reports describe as an intensified crackdown on the mishandling of classified information by the Trump administration.

Potential Consequences

If convicted, Tellis is subject to a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment and forfeiture. However, the Justice Department notes that actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

Tellis made his initial court appearance on Tuesday. A detention hearing is scheduled for October 21, according to U.S. media reports. During the FBI search, investigators noted that Tellis was cooperative, using his fingerprint to unlock a laptop and handing over keys to secured cabinets.

The case continues to develop, and the full scope of the allegations against this once-trusted adviser remains under investigation by federal authorities.

This story was aggregated by AI from several news reports and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk.