Former Senate Intelligence Staffer James Wolfe Pleads Guilty to Lying to the Feds

Former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer James Wolfe on Monday pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal authorities, BuzzFeed News reports. The 57-year-old was initially charged with “three counts of making false statements to the FBI who questioned him about his contacts with reporters,” but only pleaded guilty to “one count of making false statements to federal agents” as part of a deal with federal prosecutors in Washington D.C. Wolfe, who had access to top-secret information while working as head of security at the Senate Intelligence Committee, reportedly engaged in a “three-year affair” with New York Times reporter Ali Watkins. The Times reported Watkins had her “email and phone records seized by federal prosecutors” after Wolfe was charged with lying about his communications with Watkins and three other unnamed reporters.