Washington, March 23 (IANS) The US government has opposed an attempt by well-known American policy expert Ashley J. Tellis to get serious charges against him dismissed, saying he wrongly kept highly sensitive national security documents at his home for years.

Tellis is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on India and South Asia in the United States, with a long career in government and strategic policy circles.

According to government filings, Tellis — who worked with the US State Department and the defence establishment — held top-level security clearance but is accused of removing classified material from secure offices and storing it at his residence.

Prosecutors say the case is straightforward. They allege that Tellis “removed without authorization and retained” government documents, including papers marked TOP SECRET, and kept them in different parts of his home.

They argue that even if someone has permission to see classified material at work, that does not mean they can take it home or keep it outside secure locations.

In their filing, the government said the law applies to “any unauthorized possession” of national security information — meaning anyone who keeps such material without permission, regardless of their position.

Tellis’ lawyers strongly disagree.

They say he had proper clearance and was allowed to access sensitive information as part of his job. Because of that, they argue, he should not be treated as someone who had no right to the material at all.

His legal team says the case is being brought under the wrong part of the law. In simple terms, they argue that the provision used by prosecutors is meant for people who were never authorised to have such information, not for officials who handled it as part of their duties.

They also point out that the government never asked Tellis to return the documents, which they say is an important step under another part of the law that should apply in this case.

The government rejects that argument. It says the issue is not whether Tellis once had access, but whether he was allowed to keep those documents at home, which, it says, he clearly was not.

Prosecutors also argue that accepting the defence’s view would create a loophole, allowing officials to take classified material home and keep it without consequences unless authorities first discovered it and demanded its return.

The case now turns on a key question: Does having access to classified information at work allow someone to keep it outside secure facilities?

The court will decide whether the charges should move forward or be dismissed at this early stage.

The case has drawn attention in Washington's policy circles, given Tellis’ standing as a respected voice on India-US relations and South Asian security issues.

The outcome could have wider implications for how the US handles cases involving officials who take sensitive information out of secure government systems — an issue that has drawn global attention in recent years.

--IANS

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