Washington, Dec 7 (LatestNewsX) – Former Indian American foreign‑policy specialist Ashley J. Tellis went back to court this week to fight the Justice Department’s bid to keep him in custody until his trial, arguing that no solid new evidence has surfaced to justify changing his release terms. In a fresh filing, Tellis’s lawyers called for the government’s motion to be thrown out outright, insisting that federal law demands prosecutors present facts that are both previously unknown and directly relevant to the detention question. Their brief noted, “Nothing the government identifies is both – as the law requires – new and material to the issue of detention.” The core of the dispute is whether Tellis, charged with one count involving the unlawful retention of national defence information under U.S. statutes, should stay under strict home confinement or be put in pre‑trial custody. The indictment cites two documents; the defence stresses that there is no allegation that Tellis actually shared the classified material. Tellis has been electronically monitored since Oct 21, after both sides agreed to conditions that included home confinement, surrender of his passport, and no internet use. His team told the judge he has scrupulously followed every condition set by the court, and the concerns raised in the latest motion are either already known or irrelevant. The lawyers also argue that prosecutors cannot invoke dangerousness under the Bail Reform Act because Tellis’s charge does not fall within the narrow list that allows such a claim. “The government may argue only risk of flight, not dangerousness,” the filing states, adding that Tellis’s “strong ties to his family, home, and community” refute any flight risk claim. They challenge the government’s portrayal of the evidence seized during the October home and office search, arguing that officials could have reasonably guessed the material’s nature before the original hearing. They point out Tellis’s cooperation, noting that when he discovered additional hard drives and documents that the agents had missed, he “immediately and voluntarily provided” them to the FBI. The attorneys say the government’s speculation about future risk is unsupported and does not meet the legal threshold for pre‑trial detention, warning that moving Tellis to custody would also impede his ability to help review highly sensitive documents for the trial. “Utilising his expert view of documents, necessary to the defence, will be extremely difficult if incarcerated,” they wrote. The courtroom battle continues as the case edges toward its next procedural steps. The judge will decide whether the prosecutors have satisfied the burden required to reopen the detention hearing, which requires genuine new material evidence rather than arguments already available. Tellis was taken into custody on Oct 11 after agents executed a search warrant at his Vienna, Virginia residence, finding more than a thousand pages of clearly marked documents. Two China‑related documents later formed the basis of the single retention charge. After an initial hearing, prosecutors agreed to strict release conditions, and probation officers have reported “zero violations.” Tellis’s extensive background in government and policy analysis, including senior roles at the National Security Council and the State Department, as well as his cooperation with investigators, has been highlighted in earlier filings to demonstrate that he is not a flight risk.
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