Former Senate Intelligence Committee Security Director James Wolfe grew emotional at times during the 45-minute-long hearing at the federal courthouse several blocks from the Capitol. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo Legal Ex-Senate aide pleads guilty to lying to the FBI in leak probe

A former Senate aide who became the focus of a leak investigation entered a guilty plea on Monday to lying to federal investigators about his contacts with reporters.

Former Senate Intelligence Committee Security Director James Wolfe, 57, admitted to a single felony count of making a false statement in the course of a federal investigation.


The guilty plea could ease tensions between President Donald Trump and the Justice Department. For more than a year, Trump has been pressing for a crackdown on leaks, particularly those related to the investigations that have most angered the president — criminal and congressional probes into his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia.

The false-statement charge Wolfe pleaded guilty to appears to specifically involve his denial of involvement in leaks about former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and Senate plans to summon Page for an interview. Page was one of the first individuals who came under scrutiny during the FBI's probe into potential Russian influence on Trump's campaign.

During the 45-minute-long hearing Monday at the federal courthouse several blocks from the Capitol, Wolfe grew emotional at times. On several occasions, he took long pauses as he was questioned by U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson about whether he understood the consequences of pleading guilty and the rights he was giving up.

"There will be no trial," Jackson warned.

After an uncomfortable period of silence, Wolfe replied: "I understand, your honor." Another lengthy pause came after the former Senate aide was told he would likely lose his right to vote and to own a gun.

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Wolfe appeared to wipe away tears at one point, although he faced the judge and away from the audience. One of Wolfe’s lawyers, Preston Burton, fetched some tissues to comfort the defendant.

Despite Wolfe's halting responses to some questions, he spoke in a loud, clear voice during the hearing.

Asked if he was ready to decide whether to plead guilty or go to trial, Wolfe said: “I’m guilty, your honor.”

“Would you like to plead guilty?” Jackson asked again.

“Yes, your honor,” Wolfe said.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Wolfe is likely to receive between zero and six months in prison. The maximum possible sentence is five years and a $250,000 fine.

While Wolfe will remain free pending sentencing set for Dec. 20, prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine asked Jackson to confirm that the former Senate aide will remain under court order not to disclose any classified information and not to apply for any job that involves access to such information.

Burton emphasized that Wolfe was not conceding that he disclosed anything classified, nor did he face any charge of that sort.

“Mr. Wolfe is not charged with leaking classified information. That’s an important point,” the defense attorney said.

Burton said what Wolfe was acknowledging as part of his plea “makes very clear the information he is charged with providing is unclassified information.”

In an unusual omission, the plea hearing did not make clear publicly what facts Wolfe was admitting to. Wolfe did sign a written statement that was made available by the court after the hearing.

The statement says Wolfe lied about his contacts with four reporters. None of them are named, but one appears to be Ali Watkins, a New York Times journalist who formerly worked for BuzzFeed and POLITICO.

Wolfe admitted that he initially denied any personal relationship with any of the reporters, but after confronted with photographs of himself and Watkins, admitted to have had a personal relationship with her for several years. He continued to deny personal or professional contact with the other journalists, including contact about Page, identified in the court documents as "MALE-1."

The agreed statement of facts says that despite the ex-Senate aide's denials, "Wolfe had, in truth, engaged in contacts with multiple reporters, including conveying to at least one reporter unclassified information concerning MALE-1, and on multiple occasions using his personal cell phone, his [Senate Intelligence Committee]-issued electronic mail account, and anonymizing messaging applications, including Signal and WhatsApp."

A close reading of the court filing suggests that Wolfe admitted that he violated Senate rules by disclosing information that would likely be unclassified, such as whether Page had been subpoenaed or when.

Prior to Monday’s hearing, Wolfe’s lawyers had publicly insisted on their client’s innocence and said he intended to fight the charges. They also unsuccessfully sought a gag order on Trump, saying his public reference to Wolfe as “a very important leaker” who had been caught threatened Wolfe’s right to a fair trial.

“Jim has accepted responsibility for his actions and has chosen to resolve this matter now so that he and his family can move forward with their lives,” the defense team said in a statement issued just after the guilty plea was accepted. “We will have much more to say about the facts and Jim’s distinguished record of nearly three decides of dedicated service to the Senate and the intelligence community at his sentencing hearing.”

Watkins' current and former employers, including POLITICO, have complained about the tactics the Justice Department used in investigating the case, including by seizing her email and telephone records without telling her in advance. Justice Department policy generally requires such advance notice, but she was not told until February that her data was obtained last year.

Justice officials have suggested that the notice was not given in this instance because of her personal relationship with Wolfe and out of concern that notifying her might jeopardize the investigation.

