US-India strategic expert Ashley Tellis arrested over classified documents and China meetings

Ashley Tellis, a veteran US policy analyst of Indian origin and a longtime adviser on South Asia, was arrested over the weekend for allegedly hoarding classified government documents and meeting with Chinese officials, according to court filings unsealed this week.

The 64-year-old, who has advised multiple US administrations and held senior roles on the National Security Council, faces up to a decade in prison if convicted. The Justice Department said more than a thousand pages of top secret and secret material were found at his Vienna, Virginia, residence, where documents were discovered in filing cabinets, a basement desk, and even in black trash bags.

Court records indicate that Tellis, who maintained a Top Secret security clearance, accessed and removed sensitive materials from Defense and State Department buildings in September and October 2025. Surveillance footage reportedly captured him leaving a facility with a leather briefcase containing classified files on US military aircraft capabilities.

Adding to the case’s gravity, the FBI alleges that Tellis met Chinese government officials on multiple occasions. One such meeting on September 15, 2025, in Fairfax, Virginia, reportedly involved him carrying a manila envelope, which he no longer had upon leaving.

Other meetings, including a 2023 dinner in the Washington, DC, suburbs, were said to cover topics such as Iranian-Chinese relations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

US Attorney Lindsey Halligan for the Eastern District of Virginia emphasized the stakes, stating, “We are fully focused on protecting the American people from all threats, foreign and domestic. The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens.”

Tellis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an adviser to the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, has long been a prominent voice on US-India-China policy. Born in Mumbai, he studied at St. Xavier’s College and earned an MA and Ph.D in political science from the University of Chicago. His analyses, including critiques of India’s push for a multipolar world, have been widely followed in Washington, New Delhi, and Beijing.

While Tellis cooperated with authorities during the search of his home, the case has intensified scrutiny over the handling of sensitive US information and potential foreign influence within senior policy circles.