Article By David Hawkins
The FBI arrested a CIA contractor Friday on charges of unlawfully transmitting national defense information after investigators linked his access to highly classified intelligence with articles published on Substack.
Ian Brinksman, 42, was taken into custody following a search of his Washington, D.C., home.
Prosecutors allege that he accessed intelligence outside his assigned duties and passed information to a writer with whom he had an ongoing personal relationship.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that Brinksman “provided services to CIA” and said the investigation followed a referral from the agency.
The case centers on five episodes between March and October 2026 involving reports marked Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information.
Investigators Trace Classified Access and Published Articles
According to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent John W. Althen, Brinksman communicated with a person identified as Individual 1 shortly before or after accessing restricted intelligence reports.
Substack articles containing similar information subsequently appeared.
An original classification authority confirmed that the articles contained classified information reflecting those reports, including material classified at the Top Secret level, according to the affidavit.
Investigators outlined one sequence on March 11: Individual 1 called Brinksman at approximately 8:41 a.m.
He accessed a Top Secret report at 9:09 a.m. and again at 10:01 a.m.
An article matching its contents appeared later that day.
Prosecutors also said Brinksman was among no more than six people who accessed the relevant Substack page from the government facility during the period.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
More Than 800 Calls Between Contractor and Writer
Phone records cited by investigators showed more than 800 calls or attempted calls between Brinksman and Individual 1 during 2026.
The writer’s social media profile openly solicited information, stating, “I also accept leaks,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators also cited a September fundraising article in which Individual 1 stated that “over the past year [Individual 1 has] published reporting based on classified [relevant U.S. government agency] assessments that I believe the public deserves to know about.”
Reuters matched that language to a September 28 fundraising post from the Capital & Empire newsletter, pointing to journalist Aída Chávez as the apparent identity of Individual 1.
Chávez is not named in the criminal complaint.
🚨 NEW: Meet Ian Brinksman, 42, a Washington, DC-based government contractor arrested by the FBI today for allegedly leaking TOP SECRET national defense information to a romantic partner who published classified material on Substack. His LinkedIn lists Deloitte, national security consulting, and a current reserve intelligence officer for the US Navy.
— Kaelan Deese (@KaelanDC) October 24, 2026
Contractor Held Top Secret Clearance
Brinksman began working in 2020 as an employee of a government agency based in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to the Justice Department.
In September 2022, he became a systems integration developer for a private contractor identified in court filings as Company 1, which supported the same agency.
Throughout that period, he held a Top Secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information.
That access entrusted him with some of the government’s most closely protected intelligence.
Prosecutors allege that he used it to retrieve reports unrelated to his responsibilities before their contents appeared in published articles.
Justice Department Pledges to Prosecute Classified Leaks
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the prosecution concerns information protected to safeguard Americans from foreign threats.
“National defense information is classified to protect the American people from bad actors around the world who wish to do us harm,” Blanche said.
“The details alleged in this affidavit reflect the behavior of a government contractor who exempted himself from a federal law governing the protection of classified information.
“The Department of Justice will continue prosecuting individuals who leak classified information and put our national security at risk.”
The government’s case rests on the sequence of restricted database access, communications with the writer, and subsequent publication, evidence prosecutors say connects a cleared contractor to the unauthorized disclosure of Top Secret intelligence.
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