Skip to main content

Ex-FBI Agent Leaked Docs, Gets 4 Years

By William Vogeler, Esq. on October 23, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Terry Albury, a former FBI agent, said he wanted to make a difference.

After he made that statement, Judge Wilhelmina Wright sentenced him to four years in prison. The judge said his good intentions were no excuse for leaking confidential documents.

Even though Albury confessed to his crime, it was a difficult case for the government. Prosecutors said it is never easy to go after their own.

Racial Profiling

Defense attorneys had asked for probation, arguing that Albury acted patriotically and out of a moral conflict. He leaked documents he thought showed the FBI was racially profiling suspects of terrorism.

"I sincerely wanted to make a difference and never meant to put anyone in danger," he told the judge.

But she said Albury was guilty of a serious offense, using his security clearance to commit two crimes: unauthorized disclosure of national defense information and unauthorized retention of national defense information.

"You knew that what you did was a criminal act, and you knew that you were putting the nation's security at risk," the judge told him.

"Not Blind to Racism"

Wright said she was "not blind to the racism" in the United States.

"I'm not blind to being a minority," she added. "But that's not an excuse."

Albury, who worked in Minnesota, had a top security clearance. Prosecutors said he stole more than 70 documents, including 50 that were classified.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard