UPDATED: FBI Analyst Arrested

UPDATE: This is just a really weird case. The time frame involved--suspended 2017, finally indicted 2021--suggests that the government was running up against the statue of limitations and its investigation had not discovered what, if anything, Kingsbury was doing with the documents. That was surely the focus of the investigation. Very strange, but sometimes people are.

H/T Jim.

While the FBI has spent years pursuing its Ahab-like hunt for the Great White Supremacist conspiracy, Kendra Kingsbury--an analyst in the Kansas City office--spent the years from 2004 to 2017 systematically combing through FBI files and taking home sensitive documents. Here's the weirder part--she seems to have simply retained these documents at home. The indictment makes no mention of her having sought to transfer the documents to third persons, whether for profit or out of ideological commitment. What was she up to? Further, these were not simply documents that she accessed in her ordinary work day--she went out of her way to access and accumulate these documents that she had no reason to even look at. Why?

The weirdest part, of course, is that the FBI seems not to have learned a whole lot from its past problems. Audit our file system for unauthorized access? Who, us? 

Here's the good news, which you can also read in the DoJ Press Release, below: After 13 years during which Kingsbury looted the FBI's sensitive files the FBI finally went to "great lengths" to investigate her and did so with "great diligence," "professionalism," and thoroughness. The Press Release says so, so I guess it's true. Better late than never, seems to be the idea. Awards for all.

FBI Employee Indicted for Illegally Removing National Security Documents, Taking Material to Her Home

Note: A full copy of the indictment can be viewed here.

WASHINGTON – An employee of the FBI’s Kansas City Division has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally removing numerous national security documents that were found in her home.

Kendra Kingsbury, 48, of Dodge City, Kansas, was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday, May 18. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Kingsbury’s arrest and initial court appearance in the District of Kansas.

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“The breadth and depth of classified national security information retained by the defendant for more than a decade is simply astonishing,” said Alan E. Kohler, Jr. Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The defendant, who's well trained in handling classified information, put her country’s sensitive secrets at risk. The FBI will go to great lengths to investigate individuals who put their own interests above U.S. national security, including when the individual is an FBI employee.”

“Our community’s safety and our nation’s security were jeopardized by this criminal behavior,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore for the Western District of Missouri. “Those entrusted with such grave responsibility must be held accountable if they violate their oath and betray their country. I appreciate the diligence and professionalism with which the FBI thoroughly investigated one of their own and brought the perpetrator to justice.”

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Kingsbury worked as an intelligence analyst for more than 12 years in the Kansas City Division of the FBI, until she was placed on suspension in December 2017. She was assigned to several different FBI squads during that time, including squads that focused on illegal drug trafficking, violent crime, violent gangs, and counterintelligence. Kingsbury, who held a top secret security clearance, had access to national defense and classified information.

The federal indictment charges Kingsbury with two counts of having unauthorized possession of documents relating to the national defense.

Count one of the federal indictment relates to numerous documents classified at the secret level that describe intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts to defend against counterterrorism, counterintelligence and cyber threats. The documents include details on the FBI’s nationwide objectives and priorities, including specific open investigations across multiple field offices. In addition, there are documents relating to sensitive human source operations in national security investigations, intelligence gaps regarding hostile foreign intelligence services and terrorist organizations, and the technical capabilities of the FBI against counterintelligence and counterterrorism targets.

Count two of the federal indictment relates to numerous documents classified at the secret level that describe intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts to collect intelligence on terrorist groups. The documents include information about al Qaeda members on the African continent, including a suspected associate of Usama bin Laden. In addition, there are documents regarding the activities of emerging terrorists and their efforts to establish themselves in support of al Qaeda in Africa.

According to the indictment, Kingsbury was not authorized to remove and retain these sensitive government materials, nor did she have a need to know most, if not all, of the information contained in those materials. Kingsbury knew the unauthorized removal of classified materials and transportation and storage of those materials in unauthorized locations risked disclosure and transmission of those materials, and therefore could endanger the national security of the United States and the safety of its citizens. She also knew that violating the rules governing the handling of classified information could result in criminal prosecution.

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