Jareh Sebastian Dalke, a former NSA employee, was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for selling classified information to an undercover FBI agent he believed was a Russian official. U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore described Dalke’s actions as a calculated betrayal and as close to treasonous as possible. Dalke’s attorneys had requested a 14-year sentence, citing Dalke’s traumatic brain injury, suicide attempts, and childhood trauma. However, Moore was skeptical of these claims, as no expert opinions or hospital records were provided.
Despite claiming to be motivated by a desire to “cause change” and alleviate his debts, Dalke denied any ideological motivations or attempts to profit from selling secrets. He suggested that he believed he was communicating with law enforcement but was attracted to the excitement of the situation. Dalke received $16,499 in cryptocurrency for excerpts of documents he passed on, and offered to sell the rest of the information for $85,000, which prosecutors say is roughly equivalent to his annual NSA salary. On the day of the exchange, Dalke was arrested by FBI agents after transferring all the files during a four-hour window at a Denver train station.
The information Dalke sought to give to Russia included a threat assessment of a third unnamed country’s military offensive capabilities and sensitive U.S. defense capabilities related to that country. Dalke knew that the disclosure of these documents posed an exceptionally grave danger to national security. FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek, speaking after the hearing, could not provide specific details about the documents’ contents but emphasized the risk that Dalke’s actions posed to national security. U.S. Attorney for Colorado Cole Finegan also expressed the seriousness of Dalke’s betrayal.
Dalke, a one-month NSA employee, pleaded guilty to espionage charges as part of a deal with prosecutors last fall. Judge Moore ultimately sentenced him to 262 months in prison, the penalty requested by government prosecutors. Moore characterized the sentence as an act of “mercy” considering Dalke’s calculated betrayal. Despite Dalke’s claims of remorse and shame, Moore questioned the validity of his mental health conditions, noting the lack of expert opinions or hospital records. Dalke’s troubled past, including childhood trauma and mental health struggles, was cited by his defense as factors in his behavior.
Assistant federal public defender David Kraut argued for a lighter sentence due to Dalke’s traumatic brain injury, suicide attempts, and traumatic childhood experiences. However, the severity of Dalke’s betrayal and the risk posed to national security led Moore to hand down the nearly 22-year sentence. The boldness and calculated nature of Dalke’s actions led Moore to see them as a close betrayal of the country, bordering on treason. Despite Dalke’s claims of innocence and lack of ideological motivations, the serious nature of his espionage activities and the potential damage to national security were the focal points of the sentencing.
