Former U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst Monica Elfriede Witt is the target of a newly announced FBI reward as federal authorities accuse her of defecting to Iran and spying for the Islamic Republic, officials said Thursday.
FBI Announces $200,000 Reward for Former Air Force Analyst
The FBI is offering up to $200,000 for information leading to Witt’s whereabouts or arrest, according to an agency statement. The reward accompanies an unsealed criminal complaint that charges Witt, a former Air Force counterintelligence specialist, with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government and providing national defense information to Iran. The complaint alleges Witt disclosed classified and sensitive material and assisted Iranian intelligence operatives after leaving the Air Force in 2013.
Witt came to public attention years ago when she traveled to Iran in 2013 and remained on the U.S. radar amid concerns about her contacts there. The new federal filing says those contacts grew into an intelligence relationship. Prosecutors say she used aliases and covert communications and met with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and intelligence officials. The charges do not specify all the exact documents or sources involved, but allege that Witt knowingly and willfully acted to further Iran’s intelligence-gathering efforts against the United States.
The case is notable for the level of access investigators say Witt once had. While in the Air Force, she worked on counterintelligence matters and handled classified information, including data related to U.S. operations and personnel. Authorities contend her activities posed risks to national security and to individuals whose identities or operations may have been exposed.
The FBI’s reward notice and the unsealing of the complaint signal an elevated effort by U.S. law enforcement to locate Witt. The bureau asked anyone with tips to contact its tipline and reminded the public that rewards are sometimes used to encourage informants to come forward in cases involving national security. The Justice Department will prosecute the matter in federal court if Witt is apprehended; the filing seeks to hold her accountable under statutes governing covert service on behalf of a foreign power.
Witt’s case adds to an ongoing pattern of U.S. concerns about foreign intelligence recruitment of current and former U.S. personnel. Lawmakers and national security experts say such cases underline the challenges of countering foreign espionage activity, particularly when individuals have professional access to classified systems and later travel to or communicate with adversary nations.
Authorities did not immediately release a public comment from Witt or a lawyer for her. The FBI’s statement emphasized that anyone with relevant information should contact federal authorities.
Source: NYPost, CNN
