A 50-year-old dual American-Turkish citizen, Gokhan Gun, was arrested on August 9th while heading to the airport with classified documents in his possession. Gun, a civilian chemical engineer employed by the Pentagon, is facing charges of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Gun printed and removed over a dozen classified documents from his workplace without permission since at least May.
In August, investigators observed Gun exiting his workplace with a bag full of hard-copy documents before entering two different residences in Fairfax and Falls Church, both owned by Gun.
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On Aug. 9, Gun was scheduled to depart the United States on a morning flight to Mexico.
FBI agents executed search warrants for Gun’s Fairfax and Falls Church, Virginia residences, vehicle, and media storage devices. Among the items recovered from the searches were a Top Secret document and a printout listing Gun’s security clearances—both of which were recovered from Gun’s backpack.
Inside the residence, agents also observed stacks of papers, among which were multiple documents with visible classification markings, including pages bearing Top Secret and SCI classification markings.
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Packed for travel in a small personal belt bag, Gun allegedly had his U.S. passport and an expired passport from Turkey.
Gun claimed he was going on a fishing trip to Mexico and consented to a search of his house.
Gun faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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