A former US counterintelligence specialist known in records as air force monica witt is the subject of a federal indictment that accuses her of providing classified information to Iran after defecting, the Department of Justice and the FBI say.
The indictment, as described by United States assistant attorney general John Demers and by the FBI, alleges Witt disclosed the existence and code name of a Department of Defense special access program and gave Iran the true name and counterintelligence activities of a US intelligence operative, risking that individual's life.
The FBI says Witt defected to Iran and was provided housing and computer equipment to facilitate work for the Iranian government, and that she used fraudulent social media accounts to prepare target packages and investigate US intelligence personnel for Iranian recruitment efforts.
The Justice Department unsealed charges that include espionage, fraud and aiding and abetting, and the FBI later offered a reward for information leading to Witt's apprehension and prosecution, the bureau announced.
Background And Reported Consequences
Witt served in the US Air Force and worked as an Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst and as an Air Force Office of Special Investigations enlisted counterintelligence agent, with access to SECRET and TOP SECRET national defense information and to a special access program, according to court filings and reporting.
Her curriculum vitae lists a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and a master's degree from George Washington University, plus Persian training at the Defense Language Institute, as reported by news outlets cited in the public record.
After leaving military service she worked for contractors and nonprofit organizations on Iranian subject matter and then travelled to Iran, where the DOJ says she converted to Islam and appeared on Iranian television criticising the US government.
The public record names American-Iranian television presenter Marzieh Hashemi as an associate who helped Witt and says Witt communicated with Iranian operatives before boarding a flight to Tehran and formally defecting, according to the indictment and news reporting.
US reporting and official statements also link Witt to online activity for Iran and to the cyber group Phosphorus, which Microsoft said targeted accounts, and claim Central Intelligence Agency officials believe her disclosures harmed informants and operations in Iran.
