State Dept. Employee Fired for Leaking Data to Media

WASHINGTON —  The State Department announced today that a mid-level employee has been fired by Secretary of State George P. Shultz for disclosing classified information to the news media.

The official, identified only as an appointed official with a civil service ranking of GS-15, leaked information involving U.S. diplomatic relations, not data of a military nature, said department spokesman Charles E. Redman.

“We regret that because of this transgression the department is losing an otherwise productive and trustworthy employee,” Redman said. “But we believe that leaking of classified information is a serious breach of discipline required of all public servants.”

Redman declined under repeated questioning to identify the employee further or discuss the incident that led to the dismissal, the news organization involved or the subject matter of the disclosure.

He said the employee apologized to Shultz.

The announcement follows several weeks of Reagan Administration expressions of concern about the disclosure of government secrets.

“It is essential that the public be informed concerning the activities of its government,” Redman said. “However, we must also recognize that the national interest often requires that information concerning the national defense and foreign relations be protected against unauthorized disclosure.”

He said officials who leak information “do not serve the larger national interest by disclosing information, but instead may well be undermining the process of making foreign policy and protecting our national defense.”

Redman said the employee’s actions were discovered through an investigation, but that he did not take a lie detector test, which the department is authorized to administer under a recent presidential directive.