A former U.S. government contractor has pleaded guilty to spying for Ethiopia after using his top secret security clearance to obtain and transmit highly classified intelligence for more than two years, according to the Justice Department.

Ibraham Teklu Lemma, 54, admitted conspiring with senior Ethiopian officials while working within some of the federal government’s most sensitive institutions. His work involved the State Department, Justice Department, and National Reconnaissance Office.

The activity occurred between 2021 and Lemma’s arrest in Aug. 2023, according to a Tuesday Justice Department press release. He entered his guilty plea on Nov. 3.

The case raises serious questions about the safeguards surrounding access to sensitive U.S. intelligence. Lemma held a position of trust while working as an IT systems administrator with a top secret security clearance.

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That access allowed Lemma to obtain intelligence classified as high as the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level, commonly identified as TS/SCI. The material concerned Ethiopian armed conflict and was transmitted to Ethiopian officials, according to the Justice Department.

“For more than two years, Lemma exploited a position of trust to provide highly classified U.S. government information to a foreign government,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in the department’s press release.

Pirro described Lemma’s conduct as a betrayal that put American national security at risk. She also pointed to the guilty plea as a warning to others who might compromise sensitive government information.

“In doing so, he betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country, while jeopardizing our national security. His guilty plea sends a clear message: those who compromise America’s most sensitive secrets will be investigated, prosecuted, and held accountable.”

Abraham Teklu Lemma, 54, a former information technology contractor at the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National Reconnaissance Office, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit espionage on behalf of the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, announced @USAttyPirro. https://t.co/zjUxhmkDS7

— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) November 3, 2026

Lemma’s admission does not arrive in isolation. At least four other current or former government officials and contractors have faced charges or scrutiny involving leaks during the past two weeks.

The cluster of cases has drawn attention to how Washington decides who receives access to sensitive intelligence. It has also placed renewed focus on what happens when people entrusted with government secrets allegedly misuse that access.

Authorities arrested former CIA contractor Ian Brinksman on Oct. 23 for leaking classified information to his journalist girlfriend.

Former government contractor Thomas Ashbacher was arrested on Oct. 27. He previously worked with United States Special Operations Command, placing his case among the recent incidents involving people connected to sensitive government operations.

According to the Justice Department, Ashbacher “photographed and removed without authorization videos and photographs containing images of classified military operations and transmitted the materials to a social media site” before his arrest.

Former FBI director James Comey was also indicted over leaking national security information to the press. His case adds another prominent former government official to the recent list of people facing allegations involving sensitive information.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also fired General Brett Sylvia for leaking classified information connected to the Iran War and the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Taken together, the incidents have put government handling of classified material under an uncomfortable spotlight. Lemma’s case is especially stark because he admitted using an active top secret clearance to provide highly classified American intelligence directly to foreign officials.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Its press release, however, presented Lemma’s guilty plea as both accountability for his conduct and a warning against future compromises of American secrets.

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