The Arabic translator who pleaded guilty last week to possessing classified defense documents got past several security hurdles. He lied about who he was — first to get U.S. citizenship, then to get a job as a translator doing military intelligence work in Iraq, and finally to get a top-secret security clearance.
For two years, Noureddine Malki was a trusted Arabic translator for the U.S. Army in Iraq, with a Top Secret security clearance. But then federal agents found out he'd lied about who he was.
In fact, it turned out that Maliki had taken secret documents on U.S. military missions and insurgents. And that he had troubling anti-American cartoons in his Brooklyn apartment.
There's no evidence he did anything to harm the United States, but Malki is facing up to 60 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to lying about his identity to get his citizenship — and to illegally possessing classified documents.
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