ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A CIA analyst facing charges for leaking classified information regarding a planned Israeli assault on Iran earlier this year has been ordered by a judge to remain in custody until his trial. This decision, made by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles on Wednesday, supersedes a previous ruling by a magistrate who had suggested that Asif Rahman, a 34-year-old from Vienna, Virginia, could be released with certain restrictions while awaiting trial on the allegations of revealing national defense data.
The proceedings surrounding Rahman’s detention unveiled more insights into the ongoing investigation connected to the alleged leak and the actions of the analyst, who purportedly shared this sensitive material via the Telegram platform in October. During the detention hearing, prosecutor Troy Edwards indicated that Rahman’s alleged motivations were rooted in ideology, though he refrained from elaborating on the specifics of this ideology.
According to Edwards, the determination that Rahman acted out of ideological motivations was primarily achieved through a process of elimination, noting that his affluent background—including access to a multimillion-dollar family trust—indicates a lack of financial motive. He also pointed out that eight pages of notes had been discovered during Rahman’s arrest in Cambodia last month, where he was employed at the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh. These notes contained two distinct “to-do” lists; one was primarily filled with blocks of seemingly encrypted text, accompanied by a clear sentence regarding U.S. missile capabilities. Investigators have yet to decrypt these encrypted segments.
The other unencrypted to-do list featured categories such as “contingencies” and “run,” which Edwards described during the hearing. While official court documents do not provide an explicit account of the information leaked, testimonies shared in open court indicate that the disclosure relates to documents from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency that reported Israel positioning military resources in anticipation of a strike on Iran following Iran’s missile assault on Israel on October 1. Ultimately, Israel executed a strike targeting Iran’s air defense systems and missile development facilities in late October.
Prosecutors noted that the leak had prompted Israel to postpone its planned military operations, underscoring the precarious situation in the Middle East, which they claimed amplifies the risks involved. “It is hard to overstate what other circumstances present graver risks of danger to human life than unilaterally deciding to transmit information related to plans for kinetic military action between two countries,” prosecutors argued in filings.
Defense attorney Amy Jeffress referred to unnamed sources from news reports that have mitigated the severity of the leak’s impact. She argued that the use of “run” in Rahman’s to-do list was due to his passion for jogging. Furthermore, she noted that it is uncommon for defendants in similar situations to be detained while awaiting trial.
Rahman, a native of California, relocated to Cincinnati with his family as a child and emerged as the valedictorian of his high school. He completed his studies at Yale University in just three years and now resides in the D.C. metropolitan area with his wife and parents. His father, Muhit Rahman, who had expressed willingness to act as his son’s custodian prior to the scheduled release, attended the hearing alongside several family members and friends who showed their support.
Rahman had made his initial court appearance in Guam last month, and following the hearing on Wednesday, Jeffress announced her plans to appeal the decision regarding his detention.
