A West Virginia woman pleaded guilty to fleeing to Mexico with classified national security materials and her daughter, over whom she had no custody, the Justice Department said Monday.
Elizabeth Jo Shirley pleaded guilty to a charge of “intentional withholding of national defense information” that an agency spokeswoman said in a press release that it was classified at the “top secret” level.
“When Shirley took classified information from her work with the Intelligence Community and then fled to Mexico, she violated the trust placed in her by the American people,” Deputy Attorney General for Homeland Security John Demers said in the announcement.
“She doubled down on this betrayal when she tried to offer classified information to the Russian government. We are grateful for the timely work of our law enforcement partners to locate and arrest the accused in Mexico. Given Shirley’s troubled behavior after fleeing the United States, the damage to national security could have been much greater if the police had not acted quickly. Shirley will now be responsible for betraying the trust of the American people, “he added.
The document Shirley admitted to having brought to Mexico included “classified intelligence information on military and political affairs of a foreign government.”
“In July 2019, Shirley took her six-year-old daughter to Mexico with the intention of contacting representatives of the Russian Government to request resettlement in a country that would not extradite her to the United States. Shirley took her to Information of national defense of Mexico, which she had illegally withheld, “the statement said.
“While in Mexico, Shirley prepared a written message for Russian government officials, referring to ‘an urgent need’ to have ‘items shipped from the US. Related to [her] life’s work before they are seized and destroyed, “he continued. Shirley was arrested and her daughter was recovered outside a hotel in Mexico City by bailiffs and Mexican authorities, according to the Justice Department.
Now she faces a sentence of up to 10 years for the theft of national security information and up to three years for the kidnapping of her daughter. Shirley also faces a maximum fine of $ 250,000 on both charges.
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