By Steve Neavling
A veteran FBI agent who accused the bureau of political bias during President Donald Trump’s administration was arrested Monday in New York on charges of unlawfully disclosing confidential information, according to court records filed Tuesday, ABC News reports.
Johnathan Buma, who has served with the FBI for 15 years, allegedly shared internal documents, text messages, and other sensitive materials with associates, including as part of a book he was writing about his career, charging documents state.
Starting in October 2023, Buma “printed approximately 130 files from the FBI’s internal network … some of which were clearly marked with warnings that made clear that the information was to be protected,” according to the court filing. He also printed nine text files containing material copied from reports that were similarly marked as sensitive.
In the weeks that followed, Buma allegedly sent a draft of his book to associates via email. The draft reportedly included details on “the FBI’s investigations into a foreign country’s weapons of mass destruction (‘WMDs’) program,” the document states.
While the investigation into Buma appears to have started under the Biden administration — his home was raided by the FBI in late 2023 — he had been outspoken about the Trump administration’s handling of classified information. He previously claimed that Trump’s former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was the target of a Russian influence operation.
Federal agents arrested Buma on Monday as he prepared to board an outbound international flight, court records show. He appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing and was released.
Buma has not entered a plea, and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges were filed in the Central District of California.
His former attorney denied any wrongdoing when news of the FBI raid on his home emerged last year.
