
By Robert Willmann
As has been widely reported today, Asif William Rahman was arrested in Cambodia and charged with leaking the two documents that were published on the Internet which described preparations by the Israeli military before it would attack Iran. The document from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency was dated 16 October 2024, and the one from the National Security Agency referred to 15-16 October 2024. According to papers filed in the U.S. District Court for the Territory of Guam, he was arrested yesterday, 12 November, in Cambodia and brought to Guam. A hearing is set for 14 November at 4:00 p.m. Guam time, 16 hours ahead of U.S. central time.
The papers filed in court in Guam are a Petition for Writ of Removal, and attached to it as an exhibit is an indictment filed in the federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia on 7 November 2024. The indictment is still under seal in the court in Virginia, but it is part of the public record in the court clerk’s file in Guam, which also includes the arrest warrant created at the time of the indictment [1]. The charge alleges that the offense happened on 17 October 2024, including in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Although a federal indictment often reads like an entry into a short story competition, in an attempt to jazz it up and create as much of an effect as possible, this indictment is as bare-bones as it gets. Asif William Rahman is euphemistically described as an “employee of the U.S. Government”. The New York Times newspaper claims in a story today that he is a “CIA official”. CIA employees are often called “officers”, and not agents. The NY Times may be deliberately muddying up the description, or the defendant may also have a supervisory position in an agency.
The request for a removal order cites Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5(c), which describes the initial appearance [2]. However, the indictment cites Title 18, U.S. Code, section 3238 as allowing the case and trial to be in the Eastern District of Virginia. Section 3238 says [3]–
“The trial of all offenses begun or committed upon the high seas, or elsewhere out of the jurisdiction of any particular State or district, shall be in the district in which the offender, or any one of two or more joint offenders, is arrested or is first brought; but if such offender or offenders are not so arrested or brought into any district, an indictment or information may be filed in the district of the last known residence of the offender or of any one of two or more joint offenders, or if no such residence is known the indictment or information may be filed in the District of Columbia.”
Rahman was “first brought” to the federal court in Guam. The only part of rule of procedure 5(c) that might apply is 5(c)(4), regarding extradition. But the request for removal says he was arrested on 12 November in Cambodia and brought to Guam. That would be a pretty fast extradition. Furthermore, the Justice Department would not want to have a trial in Guam, but instead in the friendly Eastern District of Virginia. This issue has of course come up before, when a person is grabbed and arrested in a foreign country and brought back to the U.S. for a criminal case, without any extradition procedure. There may be court of appeals opinions on the subject. Since so little is known at this time, how that issue shakes out remains to be seen.
The offense charged is the familiar one about transmitting defense information [4].
This case is fascinating because it caught the attention of many persons around the world, the documents appeared authentic, and it created new questions, including whether other persons were involved in the disclosure, and whether more documents were leaked but not published on the Internet.
[1] Petition for Writ of Removal, Indictment, and arrest warrant regarding Asif William Rahman.
[2] Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5. Initial appearance.
[3] Title 18, U.S. Code, section 3238. Offenses not committed in any district.
[4] Title 18, U.S. Code, section 793. Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.
http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section793&num=0&edition=prelim
Cambodia…Pipeline…Chinese Network. Not Russian,,,Not even South or Central America. Not Mexico…either…Just China…WWW.,,I hear Hulk Hogans Heros..
and Pete..The American Dragon… Will Get them All..You Can tell..Instincts..
Ditty Ditty Ditty….Dash Dash…Shock…and Awe..But NO A-10 Warthogs..
The Air Force has announced They are Being Retired..Starting With South Korea..
My Favorite Airplane…Maybe Sliced and Diced..Like a Trident Sub..in Drydock..
While the Chinese watch….Ping….Ping…Ping…Eh
jim
I’m not sure if I am reading this correctly, but it appears that Rahman accessed the documents “in Phnom Penh, Cambodia”. Is that correct?
So why would a US employee – CIA, Military intelligence, whatever – in Cambodia be able to access documents relating to military activity taking place in the Middle East?
Shouldn’t there be at least some compartmentalization of information?