Who is Ashley Tellis? Linked with US government, accused of espionage; know all charges against him

Ashley Tellis (Image courtesy: IANS)

In a significant development, Ashley Tellis, a longtime U.S. government advisor and expert on India and South Asia, has been charged with illegally withholding national defense information and meeting with Chinese officials. In a federal affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on October 13, 2025, Tellis is accused of taking classified documents from secure facilities and storing them at his home in Vienna, Virginia.

What did Ashley Tellis do?

The 10-page affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) details a litany of surveillance observations and evidence pointing to Tellis’ alleged misconduct, including the removal of classified materials from secure facilities. According to court documents, on September 12, 2025, Tellis was captured under video surveillance at the Department of Defense (DOD) Signals Center in Alexandria; where a colleague was made to write several confidential documents, including one at the “TOP SECRET” level.

On September 25, 2025, Tellis accessed a classified State Department computer system in Washington, D.C., and opened 1,288 pages of U.S. Air Force documents marked “secret”, the documents allege. He allegedly renamed the file “Econ Reform” to hide its contents, printed hundreds of pages, and then deleted the file. Court documents state that two more 40-page Air Force documents related to military aircraft were printed, both classified as “Secret.”

What is Ashley Tellis accused of?

The FBI claimed that Tellis was seen hiding these documents on October 10. He slips them into notebooks – believed to contain top-secret material – and slips them into his leather briefcase before leaving the facility and returning home. The affidavit also said Tellis met with Chinese officials several times over the years. He showed up to a meeting in 2022 with a manila envelope and left two hours later without one.

In subsequent meetings, topics such as Iran-China relations, artificial intelligence, and US-Pakistan relations were discussed. The affidavit alleged that Chinese officials gave Tellis a red gift bag at their last meeting on Sept. 2, 2025.

The documents say: “Ashley Tellis currently serves as an unpaid Senior Advisor at the State Department. She also serves as a contractor for the Office of Net Assessment (ONA) within the Department of Defense. Through her work at ONA, Tellis is considered a subject matter expert on Indian and South Asian affairs. She also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank in Washington.”

Tellis previously served as senior adviser to the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs and was involved in negotiations for a civil nuclear agreement with India.