Ex-CIA contractor pleads guilty to retaining classified information

WASHINGTON: A former contractor for the US Central Intelligence Agency pleaded guilty on Friday for removing and retaining classified information from his government office and later lying about it to federal investigators, the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors for the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia said that Reynaldo B. Regis, 53, of Fort Washington, Maryland, worked for the CIA from August 2006 through November 2016. They alleged that Regis improperly searched classified databases and copied the information into personal notebooks, which he then took to his house.

During a search of his home, FBI agents uncovered 60 notebooks, which prosecutors say contained "highly sensitive intelligence reports. "Regis’ attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment.

It was not immediately clear why Regis took the information, nor whether or not he intended to share it with anyone. When law enforcement agents interviewed Regis, he denied copying the information from the classified databases.