On Wednesday, we brought you the story of a former Army special operations employee who was arrested for passing on classified information. That person, one Courtney Williams, has been charged with communicating and transmitting classified national defense information. She faces serious prison time.
On Thursday, we learned how Courtney Williams was caught so quickly: Because the person she leaked the information to, writer Seth Harp, burned her in his book, in what can only be described as an amateur-hour screwup.
The FBI has arrested a former Army employee for leaking classified information.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 8, 2026
They caught her because the “journalist” she leaked to published her name with the classified info.
That “journalist” is recent Tucker guest Seth Harp. https://t.co/k58oVj8crD pic.twitter.com/Yxyn3KB2St
That right there is journalistic malpractice. Harp should have known he was possibly endangering his source. And, as it turned out, he was.
Read More: FBI: Former Special Ops Employee Arrested for Passing Classified Files to Media and Others
Courtney Williams herself expressed some concern about Harp's book and the information he released.
In case you think this might have been a mistake:
— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 8, 2026
After Harp published some of the info, she texted someone that she “might actually get arrested.. for disclosing classified information” pic.twitter.com/5En8s8JeTW
The Justice Department, late Wednesday, released a bulletin about the charges Courtney Williams faces.
According to court documents, from 2010 to 2016, Williams worked for a Special Military Unit (SMU) and held a Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. As a clearance holder, Williams received training as to the proper handling, safeguarding, and storage of classified information. Williams also signed a Classified Nondisclosure Agreement which, in relevant part, confirmed her understanding that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information could constitute a criminal offense. In her role at the SMU, Williams had daily access to a broad range of classified information.
So far, we have a serious breach of professional ethics, not to mention national security. But here's where it gets interesting:
As alleged, between 2022 and 2025, Williams repeatedly communicated with the Journalist via telephone and text messages. During this period, Williams and the Journalist had over 10 hours of telephone calls and exchanged more than 180 messages. In one such message, the Journalist identified themselves as a journalist and stated that they sought information about the SMU in support of an upcoming article and book. After these communications with Williams, the Journalist published a book and article that named Williams as a source and attributed specific statements to her. Some of these statements contained classified national defense information. In addition to her disclosures to the Journalist, Williams also made unauthorized disclosures of national defense information via her social media accounts.
On the day the article and book were published, Williams exchanged several messages with the Journalist. In one such message, Williams stated that she was “concerned about the amount of classified information being disclosed.” In a separate message to a third party, Williams added that, “I might actually get arrested . . . for disclosing classified information.” In a subsequent message, Williams citied a statutory provision of the Espionage Act. And when asked how she knew that she may face legal consequences for her disclosures to the Journalist, Williams responded, “I have known my entire career,” adding that “they tell you everyday . . . 100 times a day.” Finally, in a message to a different third party, Williams stated that she was “probably going to jail for life.”
In summary, Seth Harp named his source. He named a source who was disclosing classified information to him.
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Williams will face serious consequences for disclosing classified information to an unauthorized party. But Seth Harp should be looking at a career-ending lapse, at the very least. He broke the number one rule of investigative journalism: You never, ever burn your source. Journalists have gone to prison rather than reveal their sources. That's a risk one runs operating in this world. Seth Harp, on the other hand, handed over his source like yesterday's warmed-up pudding.
If there's any sense in this world anymore, Seth Harp will have just ended any possible career he had in journalism and political commentary.
Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
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