An FBI agent and whistleblower critical of the bureau dating back to President Trump’s first term was arrested this week at JFK Airport and charged with illegally disclosing classified intel when he circulated his draft of a book, according to court docs.
Johnathan Buma, who worked in counterintelligence, was taken into custody Monday just as he was about to hop on an international flight — and slapped with charges the following day alleging he printed confidential materials from the FBI and then shared the trove with associates in 2023, authorities said.
“The book draft contained information that Buma obtained through his position as an FBI Special Agent that relates to the FBI’s efforts and investigations into a foreign country’s weapons of mass destruction (“WMD”) program,” part of the affidavit files Tuesday claims.
Buma’s prospective book was focused on his career as an FBI agent, including his work as a whistleblower, the affidavit states.
The 15-year-old FBI veteran who worked out of a California field office printed about 130 files from the agency’s internal network, including some marked protected, as well as other documents that were also protected, according to the court documents.
Once he obtained the materials, he put in for leave in October 2023, authorities said.
Buma spoke out against the FBI before that, filing a whistleblower complaint in January 2022 that alleged “numerous acts of intelligence suppression” of his reporting tied to foreign intelligence.
The complaint also claimed he was being retaliated against for airing his accusations, the charging documents state.
Buma told Business Insider in September 2023 four years earlier when he presented information to a supervisor at the Los Angeles field office about potential criminal actions between former President Biden’s son, Hunter and the Ukrainian energy company he sat on the board of, Burisma, his boss was “adamant” about moving that case along.
But he said when he tried to claim in the same meeting former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani might have been compromised in a Russian counter-influence operation, the superior shut him down immediately.
The next month, Buma’s home was raided over suspicion he mishandled classified information with some privileged information seized, according to reporting at the time.
A lawyer representing Buma after the raid, Scott Horton, claimed to Business Insider at the time no classified information was found.
Buma was released on $100,000 bail during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court and his case will be handled in California federal court.
A lawyer who represented Buma in court this week did not immediately return a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Joe Marino and Kyle Schnitzer.
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