MxM News

Quick Hit:

A Defense Intelligence Agency official has been arrested for allegedly attempting to leak classified material to a foreign government out of political opposition to President Donald Trump. The FBI says the man sought foreign citizenship and called the Trump Administration “disturbing.”

Key Details:

• Nathan Villas Laatsch, an IT worker in the DIA’s Insider Threat Division, was arrested after offering to pass classified data to a “friendly” foreign government.
• Laatsch expressed political frustration in his outreach, writing: “I do not agree or align with the values of this administration.”
• The FBI posed as foreign agents and arrested him after a pre-arranged handoff of sensitive materials.

Today, an IT specialist employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested for attempting to transmit classified national defense information to a foreign government.

This case underscores the persistent risk of insider threats. The FBI remains steadfast in protecting our…

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) May 29, 2025

Diving Deeper:

A Defense Intelligence Agency employee tasked with protecting national secrets is facing federal charges after allegedly trying to pass classified information to a foreign government—because he was upset with President Donald Trump.

Nathan Villas Laatsch, a civilian DIA employee working in the Insider Threat Division, was arrested in northern Virginia on Thursday after the FBI said he attempted to share sensitive materials with a foreign country he considered an ally. According to court documents, Laatsch first made contact through an unsolicited email, criticizing the Trump administration and offering cooperation.

“The recent actions of the current administration are extremely disturbing to me,” Laatsch wrote. “I do not agree or align with the values of this administration and intend to act to support the values that the United States at one time stood for.”

Unbeknownst to Laatsch, the FBI intercepted the message and launched a sting operation, posing as foreign intelligence agents. An undercover FBI operative responded, “Good afternoon, I received your message and share your concerns,” according to an affidavit from Special Agent Matthew T. Johnson.

Laatsch’s position made the breach especially serious. The Insider Threat Division is the DIA unit responsible for identifying individuals who may pose a national security risk—a division he now allegedly violated himself.

Authorities say Laatsch went so far as to begin seeking citizenship in the unnamed country, citing his disillusionment with America’s political trajectory. “I’ve given a lot of thought to this before any outreach, and despite the risks, the calculus has not changed,” he reportedly wrote. “I do not see the trajectory of things changing, and do not think it is appropriate or right to do nothing when I am in this position.”

FBI agents arrested him following a meeting in which he handed over classified materials. He’s scheduled to appear in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

FBI Director Kash Patel underscored the severity of the situation, writing on X: “This case underscores the persistent risk of insider threats. The FBI remains steadfast in protecting our national security and thanks our law enforcement partners for their critical support.”

The case raises new concerns about political ideology interfering with national security work—especially from those entrusted with detecting internal threats.

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hailey Gomez

During a podcast Friday, Daily Caller News Foundation co-founder Tucker Carlson and independent journalist Glenn Greenwald couldn’t stop laughing over CNN’s sudden realization of former President Joe Biden’s mental decline.

CNN’s Jake Tapper along with Axios’ Alex Thompson released their book, “Original Sin,” on May 20, which details Biden’s cognitive slide over the last four years — a concern Republicans had raised even before the 2020 election. While appearing on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” Carlson joked that Greenwald had been “scooped” by CNN on Biden’s mental fitness.

“So you are, I think, the dean of alternative media. You’ve been doing this longer than anybody that I know personally. So it must be a little weird to get scooped by CNN on Joe Biden’s dementia, like you had no idea,” Carlson said. “None of us knew.”

“None of us knew,” Greenwald teased. ” There was that debate, and we were all shocked, but we were told he had a cold. So I was like, ‘OK, he’s on some cold medication. Who hasn’t been there before? It makes you a little dragged, a little groggy, a little just like dragged.’ But no, now Jake Tapper has uncovered the truth. It turns out Joe Biden was in cognitive decline.”

Sources told Tapper and Thompson that Biden’s mental fitness had declined rapidly during his time as president, with his mental state becoming so severe at one point that aides discussed putting him in a wheelchair.

WATCH:

Tapper has faced pushback from both Democrats and Republicans over the timing of his book and the revelations it includes. The CNN host has long defended the former president.

Carlson went on to joke with Greenwald about how he believed Tapper gathered the material for the book.

“Just a hardcore shoe leather investigative reporting,” Greenwald joked. “He’s working his sources, calling all the people in Washington, digging up FOIA documents.”

“It’s one of those things where you kind of can’t believe what you’re witnessing because Jake Tapper is pretending to have uncovered a scandal that he himself led the way in the media, or one of the leaders in the media, in covering up,” Greenwald added. “To the point where if somebody would go on his show and say ‘Joe Biden is obviously in cognitive decline.’ He would say ‘How dare you bully kids who stutter?’”

Greenwald went on to reference how Tapper had accused President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, of “mocking” the former president over his stutter during a 2020 interview.

Despite Lara Trump pointing to what she believed were signs of Biden’s problems, Tapper dismissed her remarks at the time, saying she had “no standing to diagnose somebody’s cognitive decline.”

In addition to Lara Trump, Tapper also dismissed former Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips during a 2024 interview after Phillips expressed his “concerns” about Biden running for a second term.

“Obviously, he wanted Biden to win desperately and would not tolerate anyone going on the show and saying that Biden was in cognitive decline,” Greenwald said. “Now he’s making millions of dollars off a book.”

Following the media coverage of Tapper’s and Thompson’s book, Biden appeared to tell reporters on Friday he could “beat the hell out of” the two journalists.