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Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty

ST. PAUL (AP) — A black former Minnesota FBI counterterrorism agent pleaded guilty Tuesday to leaking classified documents to a reporter, saying in a statement that he knew it was illegal but felt he had to act against a culture in the bureau that often treats minority communities with suspicion and disrespect.

Terry J. Albury, 39, appeared in federal court in St. Paul on one count of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information and one count of unauthorized retention of national defense information. Under his plea agreement, Albury faces a likely sentence of between 37 and 57 months but the decision will be up to U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina Wright, who did not set a sentencing date.

His attorneys, JaneAnne Murray and Joshua Dratel, issued a statement to reporters on his behalf saying Albury, who was the only black field agent in the FBI’s Minneapolis office, acted out of conscience. They said he was troubled by how racism within the FBI affected its interactions with minority communities.

“The situation became even more acute for him when, having previously served a tour for the FBI in Iraq, he was assigned to the counterterrorism squad and was required first-hand to implement FBI investigation directives that profiled and intimidated minority communities in Minnesota and other locations in which Terry served,” they said.

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