Mariam Taha Thompson - sentenced to 23 years
that is not enough time for her imprisonment - what she did is betrayed our Military, she betrayed our human asserts, she betrayed our county. After rereading the statement of facts. Rage just rage
On March 4, 2020 the Department of Justice unsealed the February 26, 2020 sealed complaint and affidavit
Complaint via DDC-ECF https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/doc1/04517702238
Affidavit via DDC-ECF https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/doc1/04517702239
Thompson was charged with Delivering Defense Information to Aid a Foreign Government in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 794(a) and conspiring to do so in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 794(c). The maximum sentencing for violating 18 U.S.C. § 794 is life in prison
Or you can read the aforementioned charging documents via the Department of Justice’s March 4, 2020 Press Release DOJ-OPA March 4, 2020 Attachment(s):
You’ll have to take my word for it - but in March of 2020 I did a pretty extensive Twitter thread on Defendant Mariam Taha Thompson - sadly no luck in the internet way back
Thereafter on March 5, 2020 a Grand Jury seated in the District of Columbia returned a three count indictment (see DDC-ECF https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/doc1/04507702128) or you can pull down the March 5, 2020 Indictment down from my public drive
As alleged in the March 5, 2020 Indictment Defendant Thompson gravely endangered our National Security and then tried to conceal her malfeasance —which many (rightfully so) argued put many of our Military Members and that of our allies in grave danger. It’s been over a year and I still struggle to rationalize why Defendant Thompson did this.
December 30, 2019, and February 10, 2020, Thompson accessed dozens of files concerning human intelligence sources, including true names, personal identification data, background information, and photographs of the human assets, as well as operational cables detailing information the assets provided to the United States government.
The note contained classified information from Department of Defense computer systems, identifying human assets by name, and warning a Department of Defense target who is affiliated with a designated foreign terrorist organization with ties to Hizballah. The note also instructed that the human assets’ phones should be monitored.
Thompson was arrested by FBI Special Agents on February 27, 2020, at an overseas U.S. military facility, where she worked as a contract linguist and held a Top Secret government security clearance.
March 2021 Thompson Plea Agreement
If you watched the docket activity the signed March 2021 plea agreement did not come as a surprise. Off the top of my head her case was continued at least nine times from March 2020 to March 5, 2021. See DDC-ECF for March 26, 2021 Plea Agreement https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/doc1/04508421336
A few generalized observations of Defendant Thompson’s plea agreement - it was executed in October of 2020 - but only docketed on March 26, 2021 after her Changed in Plea Hearing.
Defendant Thompson’s Estimated Offense Level Under the Guidelines pursuant to the Plea Agreement - the parties agreed that the following Sentencing Guidelines sections apply:
U.S.S.G. § 2M3.1 Base Offense Level - Transmitting NDI [37]
U.S.S.G. § 3A1.4 Terrorism Enhancement [12]
U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3 Abuse of Position of Trust [02]
Total 51
Even with Defendant Thompson’s full acceptance of responsibility - the parties agreed that a level 2 reduction was warranted for entering into a plea agreement and an additional reduction of 1 level for responsibility -
In accordance with the above, the Estimated Offense Level will be at least 48, however, the maximum Offense Level pursuant to the Guidelines is 43.
And let’s be clear here - there is absolutely zero fuzz - Defendant Thompson and the Government agreed that at a “estimated Sentencing Guidelines range is life”
Based upon the Estimated Offense Level and the Estimated Criminal History Category set forth above, your client’s estimated Sentencing Guidelines range is life ((the “Estimated Guidelines Range”).
In addition, the parties agree that, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5E1.2, should the Court impose a fine, at Guidelines level 43, the estimated applicable fine range is $50,000 to $500,000. Your client reserves the right to ask the Court not to impose any applicable fine.
Again it’s the little details that provide you with additional facts - for example the first paragraph of the plea agreement states (in part)
This plea offer expires on October 26, 2020. If your client accepts the terms and conditions of this offer, please have your client execute this document in the space provided below. Upon receipt of the executed document, this letter will become the Plea Agreement
Defendant Thompson signed the Plea Agreement on January 29, 2021 and this actually explains why there were a flurry of motions filed (some under seal) from October 2020 to mid-March 2021 —it’s possible that the parties negations may have either broken down or reached an impasse — but ultimately the parties agreed and the plea agreement was docketed on the public docket after her Change in Plea Hearing (March 26, 2021)
Statement of Offense/FACTS
A lot of individuals make a bunch of noise surrounding a plea agreement - but those of us who know what matters and what’s actually far more important know that the Statement of Offense (in support of a plea agreement) is far more interesting and that document elucidates a bunch of facts- we the general public were not privy to until the Statement of Offense hits the public docket. Typically a plea agreement and statement of offense are filed concurrently
The STATEMENT OF FACTS by USA and MARIAM TAHA THOMPSON as to MARIAM TAHA THOMPSON - see DDC-ECF https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/doc1/04508421330 or via my public drive
Defendant Thompson was a contract linguist since 2006
She was detailed to the Special Operations Task Force facility in Iraq
She held a TOP SECRET//Sensitive Compartmented Information (“TS//SCI”) U.S. government security clearance
She signed a certain non-disclosure and user agreements outlining the potential consequences of mishandling classified national defense information
She also received extensive training on the proper handling of sensitive TS/SCI documents. And understood “need to know”
Furthermore until the Statement of Facts was docketed - to the best of my knowledge I do not think we, the General Public knew of these important details
Defendant Thompson was born in Lebanon
She has extensive family in Lebanon
in 2017 a family member introduced Defendant Thompson to the “un-indicted co-conspirator - this is important both for context and content
Generally speaking it was widely reported that Defendant Thompson and the un-indicted co-conspirator had a romantic relationship but the fact she was “willing to marry him soon after her retirement” that’s noteworthy and here’s why: in late December 2019 the Military conducted a series of air strikes, during one of these military offenses (January 3, 2020)
…one of these strikes killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”) Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, founder of Kata’ib Hizballah….
….unindicted coconspirator contacted THOMPSON. The unindicted coconspirator was very emotional and upset about the U.S. airstrikes, especially the death of Suleimani, and he started to ask THOMPSON to provide “them” with information about the human assets that had helped the United States to target Suleiman…THOMPSON understood “them” to be Lebanese Hizballah, including an unnamed high-ranking military commander of Lebanese Hizballah…
THOMPSON voluntarily decided to provide classified national defense information of interest to the unindicted coconspirator and Lebanese Hizballah, believing that if she did not, their relationship would come to an end, and the unindicted coconspirator would not marry her.
The worst kind of Insider Threat possible:
On a scale of zero to one hundred the kind of “insider threat” that Defendant Thompson posed was easily 100+ because the unidicted coconspirator leveraged their nearly three year romantic relationship to curry favor and dangle the proposition of marriage post her retirement…
Initially THOMPSON would view the national defense information classified at the SECRET level regarding the human assets, about which she had no need to know, and would commit the information to her memory as well as take notes on post-it notes.
THOMPSON would then return to her living quarters where she would transfer the national defense information to more detailed handwritten note then transmit the notes containing the national defense information she knew to be classified at the SECRET level regarding the human assets to the unindicted coconspirator using the video-chat feature of the application. The unindicted coconspirator would capture the information by taking a screenshot of their video chat.
Thompson create her own intelligence reports on human assets for her lover…
What in the freshest of all fresh hell is this? She put so many lives in danger that it’s almost too hard to comprehend.
THOMPSON began to create her own intelligence reports on human assets by accessing different classified files, stored in different system locations, regarding the human assets. THOMPSON did not have a need to know the majority of the national defense information she accessed from the different locations on the classified Government systems.
THOMPSON would cut and paste information and images from these different documents and locations into a single Word document, and then THOMPSON would use her cellular phone to take a picture of the detailed information regarding the human asset. THOMPSON would close the Word document containing her custom-made intelligence report, without saving the Word document, so that no record of it would remain on the classified government system.
Just read paragraphs 14 and 15
and then tell me that Defendant Thompson shouldn’t spend the rest of her natural life in Federal Prison -spoiler- that’s exactly what the Judge sentenced her today. Defendant Thompson is approximately 63 or 64 - the Court imposed a 23 year sentence…
Defendant Thompson sentenced to 23 years
as far as I’m concerned 23 years isn’t long enough time for the crimes she committed— Defendant Thompson betrayed our Country. She betrayed the men and women of our Military. And most egregiously she may have caused the death of some of our human assents. I have no sympathy for her. She is likely one of the most lethal insider threats our Government has had. But the heroes here are the men and women of the FBI are always standing watch - keeping Americans safe at home and abroad. As for Defendant Thompson - she can rot in federal prison for the rest of her natural life.
how damn weak and stupid are people