Treasury official pleads guilty to charge connected to leaks of Trump-related financial data
A senior Treasury Department official pleaded guilty Monday in Manhattan federal court to one count of conspiracy in a case in which prosecutors accused her of disclosing sensitive financial transaction reports related to people tied to President Donald Trump and Russia, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Posted — UpdatedProsecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney's office had alleged that the official, Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, leaked the documents, known as Suspicious Activity Reports, to a reporter whom CNN has previously identified as working for BuzzFeed News.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that for about a year beginning in the fall of 2017, Edwards leaked reports concerning Manafort, his business associate Rick Gates, the Russian Embassy and convicted Russian spy Maria Butina, among others.
Edwards, who was charged in October 2018, initially pleaded not guilty in January 2019 and was set to go to trial in March of this year.
Prosecutors had filed two charges against her: one count of unauthorized disclosure of Suspicious Activity Reports and one count of conspiracy to make such unauthorized disclosures.
The type of report prosecutors accused Edwards of leaking is filed confidentially by banks and other financial institutions to flag for law-enforcement entities what they believe are possibly illegal transactions. Edwards' unit at the Treasury Department maintains a centralized database of such reports, which can be accessed by law enforcement for investigations and other matters.
At Edwards' initial plea last year, Assistant US Attorney Kimberly Ravener left open the potential for an expansion of the case, telling US District Court Judge Gregory Woods that "the investigation is ongoing."
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