A former Department of Defense agency employee with area ties faces up to five years in prison for mishandling classified documents.
Margaret Anne Ashby, 26, now of Henderson, Nev., pleaded guilty to unauthorized removal or retention of classified documents, according to U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg of the Southern District of Georgia.
Starting in 2020, Ashby was a civilian employee of a Department of Defense component agency holding a top secret security clearance.
From February to May 2022, she removed from a secured facility documents “concerning the national defense or foreign relations of the United States,” according to her Wednesday plea agreement.
Ashby, who faces up to five years in federal prison and substantial financial penalties, removed the classified materials to locations in Chatham and Richmond counties “with the intent to retain them at unauthorized locations,” according to the charging document.
Ashby had a Grovetown address. The unauthorized locations included her home in the Southern District and on her computer, it said.
Renowned Fort Eisenhower document-leaker Reality Winner was sentenced to a longer term, 63 months, for removing and leaking to the media a classified report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Maintaining confidentiality of sensitive government documents is essential to protecting our citizens,” Steinberg said. “Those who are granted the privilege of working with such material are well aware of the rules regarding the safekeeping of these documents, and also are aware of the consequences for failing to comply with those rules.”
