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OMAHA, Neb. (CN) — Of all the guilty pleas entered at the Roman L. Hruska Federal Courthouse over the past 25 years, it is safe to say few of the defendants entered them in the clear, concise, tone of a retired Army lieutenant colonel.
David F. Slater pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to disclose national defense information. Slater was retired from the Army and a civilian employee of the Air Force at U.S. Strategic Command, headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha, when he provided secret information on the Russia-Ukraine War to someone on a foreign dating website, according to prosecutors in a federal indictment.
Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson said he would recommend that the plea be accepted, but the decision will not be made until after a presentence investigation is complete. Nelson scheduled sentencing for Oct. 8 by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Buescher, a Donald Trump appointee.
After the hearing, Slater’s attorney, Stuart J. Dornan of the Omaha firm Dornan Howard, declined to comment at length, at least until after his client, who spent 39 years on active and reserve duty, is sentenced. “This, obviously, is a highly sensitive matter so I want to be discerning,” he said.
Nelson told Slater he faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Donald J. Kleine of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Omaha said in court that federal sentencing guidelines pointed toward a prison sentence shorter than the maximum.
Prosecutors charged Slater with conspiracy to disclose national defense information and two counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information. Trial was initially set for early April 2025, then pushed back a month, and then the change of plea hearing was scheduled.
This person Slater communicated with, identified by authorities as “Co-Conspirator 1” in the indictment, claimed to be a female Ukraine resident and communicated with Slater via an online messaging platform and over email from February to April 2022.
Authorities have not identified the dating website, nor have they said if the person was who they claimed to be or if they were a member of a foreign intelligence service.
Slater retired from the Army on Dec. 31, 2020. Beginning in August 2021 to the following April, Slater worked in a classified area at Strategic Command.
From February until April 2022 Slater attended Strategic Command briefings on the Russian war against Ukraine classified as Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (TS/SCI), authorities say in the indictment.
Slater provided information classified as Secret, which is less sensitive than Top Secret. Information is classified as Secret if its unauthorized disclosure could seriously damage national security.
Slater’s Top Secret clearance required him to attend a raft of training. Prosecutors say in the indictment that it included how to handle classified information, counterintelligence awareness, and information not releasable to foreigners.
“Certain responsibilities are incumbent to individuals with access to Top Secret information. The allegations against Mr. Slater challenge whether he betrayed those responsibilities,” said U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr for the District of Nebraska in a statement released in March 2024 after Slater’s arrest.
The co-conspirator asked Slater to provide classified defense information Slater had access to. The requests included: “By the way, you were the first to tell me that NATO members are traveling by train and only now (already evening) this was announced on our news. You are my secret informant love! How were your meetings? Successfully?”
“Beloved Dave, do NATO and Biden have a secret plan to help us?”
“Dave, it’s great that you get information about [Specified Country 1] first. I hope you will tell me right away? You are my secret agent. With love.”
Slater provided information on military targets in the war and on Russian military capabilities, authorities said in the indictment.
On April 14, 2022, the co-conspirator wrote: “My sweet Dave, thanks for the valuable information, it’s great that two officials from the USA are going to Kyiv.” As the Omaha World-Herald pointed out last year, that same day U.S. Senator Steve Daines and U.S. Representative Victoria Sparks, both Republicans, became the first U.S. officials to travel to Ukraine following the onset of the war.
In court Thursday, Slater, with his grey hair close-cropped, wore a button-down white shirt with multi-colored stripes and blue slacks. He responded clearly to the questions posed to him by Nelson, such as if he stipulated to the facts in the plea agreement. His answers were unambiguous: “I absolutely do, your honor … They are correct, your honor … I plead guilty, your honor.”
Nelson said previously imposed conditions on his release will continue and commended him for adhering to them. “Mr. Slater has been competent with regard to his electronic monitoring, internet monitoring and has been receiving mental health services,” the judge said.
It was not revealed in court Thursday what may have caused the retired career Army officer, who would have received multiple training sessions over his decades of service as to how to handle classified information, to share that information with someone he met over the internet.
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