Ashley J. Tellis, a distinguished foreign policy scholar and U.S.-India relations expert of Indian origin, was arrested over the weekend on charges of unlawfully retaining classified national defence documents. The U.S. Department of Justice and an accompanying FBI affidavit allege that Tellis held more than a thousand pages of materials marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” at his residence in Vienna, Virginia. According to the documents, in September and October this year, Tellis is said to have accessed government buildings (State Department, Pentagon) to print classified documents related to military aircraft capabilities, and carried them out in a leather briefcase. Surveillance footage purportedly supports those claims. During a search of his home, investigators found those classified files stored across locked cabinets, on his desk, and even in large trash bags in a basement area. Separately, the affidavit mentions Tellis had multiple meetings with Chinese officials over recent years, including one at a restaurant in Fairfax, where he arrived with a manila envelope that apparently was no longer present when he left. In his career, Tellis has served as an adviser to U.S. administrations (including on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush) and holds a Top Secret security clearance. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000, plus potential forfeiture of the materials. The case has triggered wide attention, especially in security and diplomatic circles, due to his influence in U.S.–India policy and the gravity of alleged mishandling of state secrets.