Kansas City FBI employee charged with taking home national security documents

1 / 2

Kansas City FBI employee charged with taking home national security documents

Cortlynn Stark
·3 min read

A 12-year employee at the FBI’s Kansas City Division was indicted this week for taking classified documents home, according to federal prosecutors.

Kendra Kingsbury, 48, of Dodge City, Kansas, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of having unauthorized possession of documents relating to the national defense, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri said in a news release Friday.

Kingsbury was indicted May 18. The charges were made public Friday as she made her first court appearance in the District of Kansas.

“Kingsbury is alleged to have violated our nation’s trust by stealing and retaining classified documents in her home for years,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Insider threats are a significant danger to our national security, and we will continue to work relentlessly to identify, pursue and prosecute individuals who pose such a threat.”

The indictment alleges Kingsbury improperly removed sensitive government materials, which included national defense information and classified documents, between June 2004 and Dec. 15, 2017, and brought them home.

She worked as an intelligence analyst with a top secret security clearance for more than 12 years until she was placed on suspension in December 2017. During that time, she was assigned to various FBI teams, including squads that focused on illegal drug trafficking, violent crime, violent gangs and counterintelligence.

Alan E. Kohler, Jr. assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, said in a statement that the span of the classified information was “simply astonishing,” and put the country’s secrets at risk.

The first count relates to classified documents on intelligence sources and methods that dealt with U.S. efforts to defend against counterterrorism, counterintelligence and cyber threats.

Acting U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore for the Western District of Missouri said in a statement that, “Our community’s safety and our nation’s security were jeopardized by this criminal behavior.”

The second count is related to the government’s efforts to collect intelligence on terrorist groups, including details about al Qaeda members in Africa, a suspected associate of Usama bin Laden and efforts of emerging terrorists to establish in Africa.

Kingsbury did not have a need to know most or all of the details in the documents, according to the indictment. She also was not authorized to take them.

The FBI Field Office in Omaha, Nebraska, investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and David Raskin in the Western District of Missouri are prosecuting the case, with the assistance from Department of Justice trial attorney Scott Claffee with the Counterintelligence & Export Control Section of the National Security Division.

FBI Kansas City Field Office Special Agent in Charge Timothy Langan said each FBI employee has to swear to support and defend the U.S. Constitution.

“With that oath comes the obligation to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure to safeguard our national security,” Langan said in a statement. “Kingsbury’s actions are a betrayal of trust not only to the FBI but also the American people.”

Recommended Stories

  • 14-year-old leaves her newborn baby with customer at New Jersey restaurant

    Part of the child’s umbilical cord was still attached.

  • Palm Beach State Attorney Aronberg steps aside as candidate for top federal prosecutor

    A half-dozen Miami lawyers have made the cut for interviews with a state congressional nominating commission to be the next U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida.

  • Canadian soldier allegedly fed cannabis cakes to gunners in live fire exercise

    Bombardier Chelsea Cogswell faces 18 charges at a court martial for serving edibles to unsuspecting members of artillery battery Members of the Royal Canadian Artillery School (RCAS) participate in Exercise Common Gunner at a base in Gagetown, New-Brunswick in July 2018. Photograph: Cpl Genevieve Lapointe A Canadian soldier is facing court martial after alleging serving cannabis-laced cupcakes to unwitting members of her artillery unit during a live fire exercise. Bombardier Chelsea Cogswell faces 18 charges for her baking, including administering a noxious substance and behaving in a disgraceful manner. Cogswell, who has served in the Canadian military since 2011, was working in the canteen during the multi-week “Exercise Common Gunner” at a military base in Gagetown, New Brunswick, in July 2018. The event is part of the Royal Canadian Artillery School’s officer training. Cogswell is accused of preparing the cupcakes while she was working in the canteen and distributing them to unsuspecting members of her artillery battery. She has not commented publicly on the case. “All the members of W Battery who consumed the cupcakes, except one, allegedly experienced symptoms which included dehydration, overheating, fatigue, confusion, dry mouth and paranoia,” according to court documents. Images of “Exercise Common Gunner” show troops, including W Battery, firing howitzer guns with 155mm rounds. “Several affected members were allegedly unable to properly execute safe weapons and explosive handling drills,” wrote Commander Sandra Sukstorf, a military judge. “That afternoon, the affected members were treated by a medical technician and the military police were called.” The incident is believed to be the first time a Canadian Forces member has been charged with administering cannabis to colleagues without their consent, a military spokesperson told CTV News. Canada legalized cannabis for recreational use in October 2018, three months after Cogswell is accused of making the cupcakes. Soldiers in the Canadian military are now permitted to use cannabis, but are prevented from doing so at least 24 hours before operating a weapon or vehicle and eight hours before duty. Under Canada’s criminal code, Cogswell faces a maximum of two years for administering a noxious substance and “dismissal with disgrace” from the military under the National Defence Act. Cogswell was due to face court martial last year, but the hearings have since been delayed due to coronavirus restrictions, a change in counsel and a legal challenge. Her court martial is now scheduled for 3 August 2021 in Oromocto, New Brunswick.

  • Universal Pictures to turn back time for Cher biopic

    Today is Cher’s birthday, and she’s getting a gift that most of us will never be lucky enough (or maybe unlucky enough) to receive: a big Hollywood biopic from a major movie studio. Cher tweeted the news yesterday, revealing that the film will be produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman of the Mama Mia! movies and that screenwriter Eric Roth will be handling the script. As Cher excitedly pointed out in her tweet, he’s the writer behind Forrest Gump, the 1987 movie Suspect (which Cher starred in), and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born. Cher doesn’t mention it, but he also wrote Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers Of The Flower Moon with Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro. No mention of a director or star, but it seems like Universal is putting some weight behind this one.

  • He was wanted in the rape of 2 kids in Washington state. Cops found him on a boat in Florida

    A 34-year old man accused of raping two children in Washington state in January was arrested this week on a boat on which he was living in Lee County, Florida.

  • The Royal Family Tried to Overshadow Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on Their 3rd Wedding Anniversary

    Four other major announcements about the royals were made yesterday ....

  • What Democrats Learned From LeBron James

    Once wary of embracing sports figures who took political stands, Democrats now see athletes as a key to advancing their most progressive policies.

  • Is SC’s new execution law unconstitutional? Death row inmates ask court to weigh in

    The inmates questioned the legality of the new law, which would require them to choose between execution by electric chair or firing squad.

  • ‘We live here too’: Tahanie Aboushi bids to become New York’s top prosecutor

    The standout progressive is the underdog for district attorney, but she’s confident she can win – and change the system Tahanie Aboushi: ‘The fact is that we’ve had a DA for the last 80 years here in Manhattan that’s only ever been a white man.’ Photograph: Kisha Bari/Tahanie Aboushi Tahanie Aboushi was 13 when police barged into her home and arrested her parents. When she was 14, her father, a shop owner in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for charges relating to untaxed cigarettes and stolen goods. Her mother was acquitted of all charges. “Every day throughout the trial, I thought he was coming home with us. And then the day he was sentenced, he couldn’t come home with us. It was just so abrupt. I remember asking myself: ‘Is this it? He doesn’t come home with us?’ That was the day it actually sank in,” Aboushi told the Guardian in an interview. She added: “That night, there was no dinner with my father at the table, and that this would probably the last time we had dinner with our father in our home for the next 20 years.” Now over two decades later, Aboushi is entering a competitive race to become Manhattan’s next district attorney – the chief prosecutor who possesses the power to decide which cases will be pursued in the financial capital of the world and the heart of New York City. It’s a beat that covers Wall Street and downtown Manhattan to the uber-rich avenues of the Upper East and West sides, to the bustling communities of color of Harlem and Washington Heights. Aboushi is an underdog, but is already the standout progressive in the race, having earned the endorsements of the leftist Working Families party, the Jewish Vote advocacy group, and progressive political figures like congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, congressman Jamaal Bowman and the actor and activist Cynthia Nixon. Outside a coffee shop in Harlem, Aboushi is greeted by Yemeni women in burqas carrying groceries. A car pulls up to the curb and a man rolls down his window to say “Salaam” to the candidate. The man is Brother Tariq, a director at the Malcom X mosque down the street. Aboushi shouts back to tell him he owes her a phone call. “This is the side of Manhattan that’s forgotten about,” Aboushi said at the Manhattanville coffee shop. “This is one of the reasons why I jumped into this race – because there are other constituents who have been hurt. And like, we live here, too. What about us? It’s a very heavy working-class [place] here, predominantly black and Latino. But you can see we have a good mix of Yemeni communities and Pakistanis. A lot of the the immigrant African cab drivers live up here. It’s just a diverse, beautiful community up here.” In a competitive race with seven other candidates, the odds are stacked. Aboushi’s most formidable rival is Tali Farhadian Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor who clerked for Judge Merrick Garland, who now heads the justice department. If elected, Farhadian Weinstein or Aboushi would be the first female district attorney for Manhattan. While Aboushi joked that she and Farhadian Weinstein have already been confused for each other since both are women of color with ethnic names, she said she couldn’t be more different than her opponent, a millionaire who is married to a wealthy hedge-fund manager. “The fact is that we’ve had a DA for the last 80 years here in Manhattan that’s only ever been a white man. It’s been somebody that is part of powerful and privileged communities that haven’t walked in our shoes but tells us what’s best for us. We have the movement and the advocates. People are demanding change. We know we have to control and address crime, but we also know the system is very unfair and it is racist. “And so people want to know how we’re going to do both. And we can do both. I’m going to show them we can do both. That’s why I jumped in the race.” Aboushi’s hope is to succeed the current district attorney, Cyrus Vance, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Whoever is elected to the position of DA will inherit Vance’s investigation into Donald Trump’s taxes – a key issue in this race. “We know what Vance could have done this with Trump back in 2015. This was your career prosecutor and people wanted something to be done in that 2015 investigation and it ended up nowhere, right? So is it really somebody that’s never been a prosecutor that we’re worried about, or somebody that has always been a prosecutor that we should be worried about shutting things like this down?” Despite having practiced law for over a decade and running her own practice with her siblings, Aboushi’s lack of prosecutorial experience could be seen as a vulnerability in her candidacy, but she views this as a strength. “I’ve been on the other end of the decision a prosecutor has made,” Aboushi said, referencing her father’s prison sentence. “I know what it looks like on the ground and what it means to fight, to not become a statistic where you just get trapped in this cycle. And that’s the perspective that has always been missing from this office. “We’ve had career prosecutors. We can’t sacrifice any more of our families hoping that a person is going to see us as human beings and do something different.” We have the most diverse cross-sectional support system – more than any other candidate Tahanie Aboushi Taboushi said what she’s lacking in prosecutorial experience, she makes up for in lived experience. Her most high-profile case to date was against the New York police department, where she defended Muslim women who were forced to remove their hijabs to get their mugshots taken in arrests. She won, and New York City paid each woman in the case a settlement of $60,000. “I told myself, ‘What kind of kind of environment are these officers in that you can do that and feel so comfortable about doing it?’ It was one of first impressions in the courts, meaning the NYPD never had that issue come up with them before. Now, the policy extends to all New Yorkers.” She added: “What I loved about that case is it started with a high-school student – a Muslim girl who tried to speak up for herself and her voice was stamped out. It doesn’t matter what religion you are. To work through their arguments was an active changing of systemic racism and understanding that you are in a vibrant city of so many different cultures.” Aboushi hopes to clinch the nomination in the primary election on 22 June and she is confident she can win. “We have the most diverse cross-sectional support system – more than any other candidate. We can have a safe and fair justice system and accomplish accountability in a way that’s focused on rehabilitation and preventative measures. People trust us. People hear my story and read about the work that I’ve done. “And they know I’m not going to ‘otherwise’ them, and that we’re going to be open and honest about this process. And we’re going to be responsive. We’re going to ensure a safe and stable society for everyone.”

  • Brewers trade 2 relievers, acquire SS Adames from Rays

    The Milwaukee Brewers acquired shortstop Willy Adames in a multiplayer trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. The Brewers also got pitcher Trevor Richards from the Rays for relievers J.P Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. The 28-year-old Richards has a 4.50 ERA and one save in six relief appearances.

  • A-Rod is in a ‘world of pain’ after his breakup with JLo. How he’s covering it up

    He may be “shocked” over his breakup with Jennifer Lopez, but at least he’s staying busy.

  • ‘Art of the Deal – for working people’: Psaki corrects Fox reporter trying to link Biden talks to Trump motto

    In the latest instalment of the White House versus Fox News, press secretary Jen Psaki agreed to call the president’s negotiations with on infrastructure the “Art of the Deal” with one correction – “for working people”. Ms Psaki announced on Friday that Joe Biden’s $2.3 trn spending plan had been reduced to $1.7 trn in the “art of seeking common ground”. Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked if at some point those negotiations become the “art of the deal”, referencing Donald Trump’s infamous 1987 tome of the same name.

  • Simone Biles nailed a vault so dangerous that no woman has ever tried it in competition

    Even after achieving a feat others have never dared to try, Simone Biles critiqued herself because she "got a little nervous on the landing."

  • Liz Cheney’s primary challenger describes impregnating 14-year-old girl at 18 as ‘like the Romeo and Juliet story’

    In what he called a "Romeo and Juliet story," U.S. House candidate and Wyoming state Senator Anthony Bouchard revealed late Thursday he had a "relationship with and impregnated a 14-year-old girl when he was 18," reports The Casper Star-Tribune on Friday. Bouchard broke the news himself in a Facebook Live on Thursday, attempting to get "ahead of the story after learning that people were investigating it in opposition to his candidacy," writes the Star-Tribune. The senator is in the midst of challenging Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for her seat in the House, but says he does not believe Cheney's team was involved in digging up the story, the Star-Tribune reports. "Two teenagers, girl gets pregnant," says Bouchard in the Facebook Live video. "You've heard those stories before. She was a little younger than me, so it's like the Romeo and Juliet story." Bouchard did not reveal the girl's age in the Facebook Live video, the Hill reports. Investigators have been hounding my family for weeks and now the liberal fake news is coming out with a hit piece about my teenage years. This is why good people avoid running for office. I won't back down, Swamp! @RepLizCheney Bring it! https://t.co/gaVSm6MkZM — Anthony Bouchard for Congress Against Cheney (@AnthonyBouchard) May 21, 2021 Bouchard says the two married in Florida when he was 19 and she was 15, and divorced three years later. At age 20, the unnamed ex-wife committed suicide, reports the Star-Tribune. "She had problems in another relationship," Bouchard added in his video. "Her dad committed suicide." Bouchard's plans to run for office remain seemingly unaffected: "Bring it on. I’m going to stay in this race," he said to the Star-Tribune. After announcing his candidacy in January, Bouchard reported raising over $300,000 in the first quarter of the year. More at The Casper Star-Tribune. More stories from theweek.comWill cryptocurrency cause the next financial crisis?Joe Manchin calls increasingly likely GOP filibuster of Jan. 6 commission 'so disheartening'Harry Reid saw 'classified' things at Area 51 that 'fascinated me'

  • Watch this 94-year-old Army Ranger push a walker away to stand and receive the Medal of Honor

    Retired Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. entered the ceremony in a wheelchair, but he stood on his own for the reading of his citation and to receive the award.

  • U.S. judge orders that Dakota Access oil pipeline can remain open

    NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. federal court judge on Friday denied a request from Native American tribes to shut the Dakota Access oil pipeline after a key environmental permit was scrapped last year, arguing the tribes had failed to prove the line's continued operation would cause irreversible harm. The 570,000 barrel per day (bpd) pipeline out of North Dakota that travels under a Missouri River reservoir is now likely to stay running at least until a new federal environmental review is completed next year. The pipeline's continued operation provides some clarity to market participants after months of uncertainty.

  • Owner of AP tower destroyed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza says he saw no evidence of Hamas in the building

    EXCLUSIVE: Hamas had no presence in the Gaza building that housed the AP, its owner says. When pressed by Insider, Israeli officials disagreed.

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Nancy Pelosi 'mentally ill' and compares House mask rules to the Holocaust

    Greene is one of several Republican lawmakers who have openly defied the mask-wearing requirement on the House floor this week.

  • Who is Derek Chauvin’s ex-wife, who filed for divorce after George Floyd’s death?

    Kellie May Xiong Chauvin, 46, is now the ex-wife of the former police officer after 10 years of marriage

  • Cease-fire in Gaza: What we know about the Israel, Hamas agreement

    What's next after Israel's cease-fire? How many died in the conflict? How did it start? These questions and more answered.