Ashley Tellis, a prominent US government adviser and expert on India US relations, has been arrested and charged with unlawfully retaining national defence information and allegedly holding meetings with Chinese officials, US prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Ashley Tellis, 64, appeared in court the same day, with a detention hearing set for October 21, according to US media.
“These charges represent a serious threat to the safety and security of our citizens,” said Lindsey Halligan, the US District Attorney for Eastern Virginia, appointed by President Donald Trump.
Who is Ashley Tellis?
Born in India and a naturalised US citizen, Tellis is a respected academic known for his work on defence and strategic affairs in Asia. He serves as the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and has advised the US government on India relations for more than two decades.
Ashley Tellis holds degrees from the University of Mumbai and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago. He previously served in the US Foreign Service, on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, and played a key role in negotiating the 2008 US–India civil nuclear deal.
Currently, Ashley Tellis is an unpaid senior adviser at the US State Department and a contractor with the Office of Net Assessment (ONA) at the Department of Defense, where he had access to classified information.
What is he accused of?
Prosecutors allege Tellis violated 18 U.S. Code § 793, which prohibits the unauthorized handling of defence information.
An affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia states that Tellis was seen on surveillance cameras removing classified documents from a Pentagon facility on September 12 and October 10.
Authorities say Ashley Tellis accessed a 1,000-page US Air Force document, printed parts of it, and took them home in his briefcase. When agents searched his Virginia home on October 11, they reportedly found classified materials.
Alleged meetings with Chinese officials
The affidavit further claims Ashley Tellis met several times with Chinese officials in Fairfax, Virginia, between 2022 and 2025.
At one dinner in September 2022, Tellis was seen carrying a manila envelope that he no longer had when he left. Subsequent meetings allegedly included discussions about Iran–China relations, artificial intelligence, and US–Pakistan ties.
In his most recent encounter in September 2025, Chinese officials reportedly gave Tellis a red gift bag.
Possible punishment
Tellis’s views on India–US–China dynamics
Ashley Tellis has long advocated for a strong US–India partnership as a counterbalance to China. Yet in his latest paper, “Multipolar Dreams, Bipolar Realities: India’s Great Power Future,” published by Carnegie last week, he argued that India’s slower growth and insistence on strategic autonomy limit its ability to counter Beijing.
“For all of its achievements, India is not growing fast enough to balance China effectively,” Tellis wrote, adding that New Delhi will ultimately need a reliable external partner namely the United States to confront China’s expanding influence.
