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Natalie Edwards

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Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards
NationalityUnited States
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationSenior official at Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
EmployerUnited States Treasury
Known forDisclosing suspicious activity reports (SARs) from October 2017 to October 2018 to BuzzFeed News

Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards (born 1978) is a former senior official with the United States Treasury who was employed in the Financial Crimes division (FinCEN).[1][2]

She was arrested on October 16, 2018, for allegedly disclosing suspicious activity reports (SARs) from October 2017 to October 2018 detailing Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election to a reporter with BuzzFeed News, which published the series "The Money Trail".[1][3] The SARs included money transfers and information about Maria Butina, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort, the Russian Embassy in the United States, and a Russian firm, Prevezon Alexander, LLC., involved with money laundering.[4][5][6]

The Wall Street Journal identified the Buzz Feed reporter as Jason Leopold. Edwards allegedly sent Leopold internal FinCEN emails, investigative memos and intelligence assessments, and the two were in regular contact.[7] The New York Times characterized Edwards' case as procedurally different from that of James Wolfe, even though both cases involved leaking to reporters.[8]

The government's decision to charge Edwards is significant as this appears to be the first criminal case based solely upon an unauthorized disclosure of a SAR.[9] The criminal complaint against her contains a footnote that "Edwards told the Interviewing Agents, in sum and substance, that she is a 'whistleblower' and the government acknowledges she filed a whistleblower complaint and reached out to congressional staffers". The footnote continues on to note that the whistleblower complaint filed was "unrelated to the SARs disclosures."[10]

Edwards pled guilty in 2020.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b Rosenkrantz, Holly (October 17, 2018). "Treasury official charged with leaking records related to Russia probe". CBS News. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  2. ^ Re, Gregg (October 18, 2018). "Treasury employee charged with leaking financial info on Trump team was arrested with flash drive in hand, prosecutors say". Fox News. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  3. ^ "The Money Trail". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Flitter, Emily (October 17, 2018). "Treasury Official Charged With Leaking Bank Reports to Journalist". New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "US Treasury Adviser Charged With Leaking Info on Detained Russian Citizen Butina". Sputnik. October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  6. ^ "Treasury official pleads not guilty in leaking case". WDIV. January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  7. ^ Rebecca Davis O’Brien, Aruna Viswanatha (October 17, 2018). "Treasury Official Charged With Leaking Sensitive Bank Information to Reporter". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 4, 2020. The BuzzFeed reporter, who isn't identified in the charges, is recognizable as Jason Leopold, who was listed as an author on all 12 articles cited in the complaint.
  8. ^ Emily Flitter (October 17, 2018). "Treasury Official Charged With Leaking Bank Reports to Journalist". The New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2020. James A. Wolfe, denies that he distributed classified materials, and the Justice Department has not charged him with leaking information. The case against Ms. Edwards is different. Disclosing suspicious activity reports to anyone who is unauthorized to see them is against the law, and the reports seldom — if ever — make their way into the public domain. When questioned by investigators, Ms. Edwards did not deny having shared them
  9. ^ "FinCEN Employee Charged with Unlawful Disclosure of SARs to Reporter". Money Laundering Watch. October 24, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  10. ^ "U.S. v. Natalie Edwards Complaint". Scribd. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  11. ^ Re, Gregg (January 13, 2020). "Ex-Treasury employee pleads guilty to leaking Trump team info, after dramatic bust with flash drive in hand". Fox News.
  12. ^ "Former Senior Fincen Employee Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Unlawfully Disclose Suspicious Activity Reports". United States Department of Justice. January 13, 2020.


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