A Treasury employee has been arrested and charged with leaking multiple reports about financial transactions relating to former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, campaign official Richard Gates, accused Russian agent Maria Butina and the Russian Embassy, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards is accused of illegally photographing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS) — which are sent by banks and other financial institutions to alert law enforcement to potential illegal activity — and leaking them to the press. Edwards worked as a senior adviser at the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), according to a press release by the Southern District of New York.
“In her position, Edwards was entrusted with sensitive government information. As we allege here today, Edwards violated that trust when she made several unauthorized disclosures to the media,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a statement. “Today’s action demonstrates that those who fail to protect the integrity of government information will be rightfully held accountable for their behavior.”