Ashley J. Tellis, an Indian-born senior fellow and Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. as well as a former staffer on the White House National Security Council under President George W. Bush, has been arrested on federal charges of “unlawful retention of national defence information” after a raid on his home this last weekend by the FBI uncovered thousands of highly-sensitive pages labeled both TOP SECRET and SECRET, including documents on tactics, techniques and procedures by the U.S. Air Force.

According to an affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, Tellis held a Top Secret Security Slearance with access to “Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI)” through his work as an unpaid senior adviser at the U.S. State Department and as a contractor with the Department of Defence's Office of Net Assessment. During the search of his home, classified documents that Tellis had printed himself or had co-workers print, before smuggling them home in briefcases, were found in filing cabinets, on a desk and inside trash bags in the basement of home in Washington.

The affidavit states that Tellis removed documents from classified spaces on multiple occasions, including an incident on September 25, during which Tellis accessed the State Department's “Classnet” Network, which handles information at a Secret Classification. While in the network, he opened a PDF file “that referred to U.S. Air Force tactics, techniques and procedures”, originally titled with a reference to adversary fighter aircraft and marked ‘Secret’. He then “re-saved the document, changing the file name to ‘Econ Reform’”, before printing sections of it in batches. He then opened and printed two additional U.S. Air Force Weapons School documents “concerning military aircraft capabilities,” both marked Secret.

In addition, the affidavit further claims that since 2022, Tellis met at least four times with government officials of the People's Republic of China, including a dinner in September 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia, where Tellis arrived “with a manila envelope” and Chinese officials “entered the restaurant with a gift bag.” During another dinner in April 2023, Tellis and the officials “were overheard talking about Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence”.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5786617&forum_id=2).#49350404)

Western name - check ✔️

Loves China - check ✔️

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5786617&forum_id=2).#49350417)

Date/Source

Context

Quote/Example

August 2025, Foreign Affairs ("India’s Great-Power Delusions")

foreignaffairs.com

Criticizing Hindu nationalism and its impact on democracy/minorities

"Meanwhile, at home, the country is shedding one of its main sources of strength—its liberal democracy—by embracing Hindu nationalism. This evolution could undermine India’s rise by intensifying communal tensions and exacerbating problems with its neighbors... An illiberal India will be a less powerful one."

August 2025, Foreign Affairs ("India’s Great-Power Delusions")

foreignaffairs.com

On BJP's policies alienating minorities and repressing opposition

"The BJP has attempted to reabsorb previously alienated lower-caste Hindus... even as Hindu nationalists have sought to promote the idea that many of India’s other minority faiths... are really Hinduism in disguise... Modi’s government has deputized the tax authorities and other instruments of law to intimidate India’s opposition parties, civil society, regulatory institutions, and some opposition-ruled states."

May 2023, Foreign Affairs ("America’s Bad Bet on India")

cfr.org +2

Warning US against over-relying on India amid democratic concerns

"The United States has tolerated these Indian behaviors in the past in part because both countries were largely liberal democracies. As both proceed down the path of illiberalism, however, they will no longer be tied by shared values. Transactional habits may come to dominate the relationship." (Echoed in interviews, e.g., CFR podcast, emphasizing private handling of "disagreements" on human rights.)

June 2025, Foreign Affairs ("How New Delhi’s Grand Strategy Thwarts Its Grand Ambitions")

firstpost.com +1

On India's "democratic decline" hindering US partnership

"India’s internal challenges, including institutional weakness, economic inequality, and growing religious polarization, are undermining its external ambitions... The erosion of democracy in both the United States and India is now visible for the world to see." (Criticized by BJP as "harsh" and "anti-India.")

May 2023, CFR Podcast ("U.S.-India Relations")

cfr.org

On human rights and US-India ties

"Whatever the disagreements are [on democracy and rights], we deal with them privately... with a certain measure of candor. You don't have to understate the character of the disagreement, but... communicating that respectfully is the smart way to proceed." (Implying US should press India on issues like minority treatment without public rupture.)

2018, Cafe Dissensus ("Telliscope: The Real Destroyers of Democracy")

cafedissensusblog.com

Defending activists and Naxal sympathizers' rights

"So what if many of these activists are Naxal sympathisers? Is that a crime?... Does not a democracy allow for plurality of political opinion?... Their demands fall well within the Constitution. They demand rights for the underprivileged." (Critiquing state raids on human rights defenders as undemocratic.)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5786617&forum_id=2).#49350547)