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‘Wait for the truth to out,’ says foreign policy expert on Ashley Tellis case
The China affairs expert urged restraint and warned against drawing political or legal conclusions before evidence in the espionage-linked case is tested in court.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 06, Nov 2025
- 13:04 EST
- 22
Ben Lowsen and Ashley J. Tellis / TheNationalistView/ YouTube
China affairs expert Major (Retd.) Ben Lowsen has urged restraint and due process in assessing the arrest of U.S. strategist Ashley J. Tellis, describing the case as “unsettled” and warning against premature conclusions until all evidence is fully examined.
Speaking on The Nationalist View podcast with journalist Arun Anand, Lowsen — a former U.S. military attaché in Beijing and adviser to the Pentagon on China — placed the case within a broader context of intelligence rivalry, political polarization, and the delicate balance between U.S. national security and academic exchange.
Also Read: Prominent Indian American scholar Ashley Tellis released on bond
“In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” Lowsen said. “We don’t know what Mr. Tellis may or may not have done. Spying and intelligence collecting happen between countries all the time. However, when you have an overtly hostile foreign power like China toward democracies, you’re going to see a lot more of it.”
Lowsen acknowledged reports that Tellis, a noted India-born policy scholar, allegedly kept classified documents at his home and maintained contact with Chinese embassy officials. He said that while retaining classified material would be “illegal if proven,” such diplomatic engagement was not unusual for a scholar of Tellis’s background.
“It would have been very valuable for him to meet with Chinese officials,” Lowsen observed. “The character of those meetings is what matters. Exchanging academic papers is one thing; exchanging classified information would be another entirely.”
Political dimension and timing
Lowsen also cautioned against overlooking the political dimensions of the case. He pointed to U.S. District Attorney Lindsay Halligan — recently appointed by the Trump administration and known for pursuing high-profile prosecutions — who is leading the case.
“There’s always the shadow of a political prosecution,” he said. “It may be all according to due process, or it may be that Halligan simply has a different take on when to prosecute. The thing to watch is who is convicted, if anybody.”
While the investigation into Tellis reportedly began during the Biden administration, the indictment came under the current Trump administration, fueling debate over political timing and intent. “It may simply be a matter of law — that the investigation ran its course,” Lowsen said. “But because of the political backdrop, there’s reason to examine the context closely.”
The case against Ashley Tellis
Tellis, 64, a veteran strategist and one of the architects of the U.S.–India civil nuclear deal, was arrested last month after federal investigators allegedly discovered over a thousand pages of classified documents at his Virginia home.
Prosecutors claim he met Chinese officials multiple times between 2022 and 2025, sometimes leaving such meetings without the manila envelopes he had brought, and on other occasions returning with gifts.
The Justice Department has charged him with unlawful retention of defense information, though not with espionage. Tellis has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that his interactions with Chinese diplomats were professional and academic in nature.
Tellis was granted pre-trial release by a U.S. court under strict conditions. According to the ruling, his passport was surrendered, his internet access restricted, and he is subject to travel limitations and electronic monitoring. His wife co-signed a secured bond of $1.5 million, backed by the family home, and the judge cited Tellis’s deep U.S. roots and lack of flight risk in justifying the release.
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