Offutt Air Force Base employee indicted for sharing classified national defense information
By Brian Beach 
, Reporter Nebraska Public Media
March 5, 2024, 5 p.m. ·
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A Nebraska Air Force employee was arrested Saturday for sharing classified information about the war in Ukraine.
David Slater, a 63-year-old employee at the Offutt Air Force Base, faces one count of conspiracy to disclose national defense information and two counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information.
The charges are each from February through April 2022.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Slater, who held a Top-Secret security clearance, willfully shared information through an online dating platform with someone claiming to be a woman from Ukraine.
The co-conspirator called Salter her “secret informant”, sending him probing messages including one that read, “Beloved Dave, do NATO and Biden have a secret plan to help us?”
Slater made his initial appearance at U.S. District Court in Omaha Tuesday.
His attorney said Slater intends to plead not guilty to all three counts.
If convicted, Slater could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of the transmission of national defense information.