An FBI translator with top-secret security clearance went rogue—and married a wanted ISIS terrorist.
According to CNN, Daniela Greene, who worked as an FBI translator, skipped out on her job in 2014—and married violent ISIS terorrist, Denis Cuspert, better known among ISIS operatives as Abu Talha al-Almani.
Greene had been part of the Detroit-based FBI team that was investigating Cuspert.
In an embarrassing breach of security for the agency responsible for uncovering ISIS sympathizers in the United States, Greene lied to the FBI about a vacation she planned to take, telling superiors she was going to Munich, Germany, to visit her parents. Instead, Greene secretly boarded a plane for Istanbul, Turkey, and then snuck across the border to Syria.
In Syria, Greene married Cuspert—and told her new husband extensive details about the FBI investigation into him.
Cuspert was infamous for being one of ISIS’s primary pitchmen—serving as one of their key online recruiters for new members across the western world. He was under investigation by both the FBI and by European counter-terrorism authorities for his actions.
Greene and Cuspert’s marriage was short-lived, however. Within weeks, Greene expressed tremendous regret for what she had done in emails to unnamed friends.Complaining about the “very harsh environment” in Syria, she stated she wished she “could turn back time.”
Five weeks after arriving in Syria, Greene was somehow able to escape war-torn Syria, and returned to the United States to face the consequences. She was arrested upon arrival, and agreed to cooperative with the government.
Greene served two years in federal prison—a very short sentence considering the severity of her crimes, due in large part to the significant information she was able to give U.S. authorities about ISIS upon her return. Throughout the entire ordeal, her story had been kept hidden from the American public, due to court-mandated secrecy by the Justice Department.
Greene was released from prison last summer, after the end of her sentence.
