The arrest of a dual-citizen Pentagon employee on accusations of mishandling classified documents became even more of a saga after a federal judge ordered his release.
Gokhan Gun, a 50-year-old Falls Church, Virginia, resident who holds a dual citizenship with Turkey, was arrested August 9 by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Gun is an electrical engineer who works in the Department of Defense Joint Warfare Analysis Center.
He was taken into custody as a ride-hailing service vehicle arrived at his home to take him to a nearby airport for an international flight.
According to The Washington Post, authorities said Gun was attempting to get to a planned flight from the United States to Vallarta, Mexico.
Earlier in the week, they claim, Gun printed off 82 pages marked as top secret. FBI agents found a backpack “prepared for his foreign trip” in the DOD engineer’s dining room.
The backpack was allegedly found to contain even more classified materials.
Officials say that Gun printed off and took more than 150 pages of documents from a highly classified network.
At Gun’s hearing Tuesday federal Magistrate Judge Ivan Davis waved off any pretrial detention, arguing the severity of his alleged crimes do not call for him to remain in custody.
Should Gun be kept in custody?
“What’s so serious about this case other than the fact that it involves classified material?” Davis asked.
According to the Post, mishandling classified information in this way was made into a felony offense by Congress in 2018. Despite this, Davis recommended Gun’s release from jail.
Prosecutors are now working to reverse this decision while underlining the threat posed by Gun’s alleged actions.
“The defendant’s crimes reflect not only a lack of respect for rules and restrictions on his behavior, but also a willingness to betray the trust of this nation,” prosecutors’ Monday court filing reads.
Gun only became a naturalized citizen in July of 2021.
In the past, he has taken over a dozen trips to international destinations in Europe and the Middle East.
Gun claims he was flying to Mexico for a fishing trip, which is disputed because of the presence of classified materials.
“Respectfully, your honor, you don’t need an intelligence community credential to go fishing,” U.S. attorney Anthony Rodregous told Judge Davis.
“This is the exact type of material that our adversaries would love to get their hands on,” he continued, staying quiet on the details but mentioning that Gun is being probed for any potential espionage he may be involved in.
Prosecutors say Gun will likely face more charges as the investigation continues.
