Ex-US Senate Staffer Pleads Guilty To Lying To FBI - Justice Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2018) Former staffer James Wolfe of the US Senate Intelligence Committee pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the FBI during an investigation into the disclosure of classified information, the Department of Justice said in a press release on Monday.

"James A. Wolfe, 57, of Ellicott City, Maryland, a former staff employee of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), pleaded guilty today to one count of making a false statement to special agents of the FBI during the course of an investigation into the unlawful disclosure of classified national security information," the release said.

The release said Wolfe lied to the FBI when asked about providing reporters with classified national security information.

The FBI questioned Wolfe as part of an investigation opened in April 2017 into the disclosure of national security information that appeared in a news article, the release added.

According to the Justice Department, a grand jury indicted Wolfe on three counts of making false statements in June 2018, but under the guilty plea, the government agreed to drop two of the counts against him.

Wolfe faces a maximum of five years in prison as well as financial penalties. Sentencing is scheduled for December 20.