Brinksman held a top‑secret clearance while employed by a private contractor that works with the Defense Department. The FBI affidavit shows he accessed classified intel reports on 12 separate occasions between March and May 2026, sending them through encrypted channels to Chávez.
But the evidence extends beyond log files: phone records, badge‑swipe data, and e‑mail trails all point to a deliberate, repeated breach of duty.
John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, warned, "That is not carelessness. It is a betrayal of his oath and the American people who entrusted him to fulfil his duties honorably."
Chávez, who runs the Capital & Empire Substack, published five 2026 articles that closely replicated the classified reports, citing her belief that the public deserved to know.
Before the contractor job, Brinksman was a senior strategy consultant at Deloitte and a former U.S. State Department foreign‑service officer, a résumé that earned him the clearance.
A federal court will hear the case on July 15, where prosecutors will argue for a 20‑year sentence based on the magnitude of the breach.