An FBI translator traveled to Syria in 2014 and married the ISIS operative she was supposed to investigate, according to a new report.
Daniela Greene, who had top-secret security clearance, lied to the FBI about her travel plans and warned her husband that he was under FBI investigation, CNN reported.
The breach of national security was never publicized, and it calls into question the treatment Greene got from the Justice Department. Greene was charged with a minor offense before asking a judge to give her a reduced sentence in exchange for her cooperation. She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.
Greene’s husband, Denis Cuspert, is a German rapper-turned-ISIS recruiter who gained notoriety in terrorist videos and propaganda. In Germany, Cuspert went by the name Deso Dogg but was known in Syria as Abu Talha al-Almani. Cuspert opened a show for rapper DMX in 2006.
A few weeks into the marriage, 38-year-old Greene “seemed to realize she made a terrible mistake,” according to CNN.
The FBI told CNN it “took several steps in a variety of areas to identify and reduce security vulnerabilities,” after Greene’s conviction.
“The FBI continues to strengthen protective measures in carrying out its vital work.”
“It’s a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it,” John Kirby, a former State Department official, told CNN.
Top ISIS approval would have been needed for an outsider like Greene to enter Syria without “getting their heads cut off,” Kirby continued.
“So for her to be able to get in as an American, as a woman, as an FBI employee, and to be able to take up residence with a known ISIS leader – that all had to be coordinated.”
Greene refused an interview with CNN. She works as a hostess in a hotel lounge and said she feared that her family would be in danger if she talks.
