Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jessica Aber, who was found dead at the age of 43 by Virginia authorities on Saturday, was at the helm of high-profile investigations into intelligence leaks, allegations of war crimes against Russian-linked individuals and people suspected of providing sensitive U.S. technology to Moscow before she stepped down at the start of the year.Why It MattersAber, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, resigned in January after President Donald Trump was inaugurated. She had risen to lead one of the most important federal prosecutor’s offices and roughly 300 prosecutors, civil litigators, and support personnel, regularly tasked with national security and terrorism-related cases.The Alexandria Police Department said on Saturday that officers responded shortly after 9 a.m. local time to reports of an unresponsive woman at Beverley Drive, north of downtown and south of Arlington.
Then U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, center, at the Department of Justice on December 6, 2023, in Washington D.C., as former Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, and former Secretary of…
Then U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, center, at the Department of Justice on December 6, 2023, in Washington D.C., as former Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, and former Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, look on.
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AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
What To KnowIn mid-January, Asif Rahman, a former CIA analyst, pleaded guilty to retaining and transmitting top secret national defense information to people who were not entitled to receive it, before the information then appeared on social media in October 2024.Aber said at the time that Rahman had “disclosed top secret American documents in violation of his oath, his responsibility, and the law,” and his actions had “placed lives at risk, undermined U.S. foreign relations, and compromised our ability to collect vital intelligence in the future.”The Justice Department said in late September that it had, along with the State and Treasury Departments and law enforcement, unsealed an indictment that charged a Russian national, named as Sergey Ivanov, with involvement in “multiple money laundering services that catered to cybercriminals, as well as the seizure of websites associated with three illicit cryptocurrency exchanges.”Another Russian national, Timur Shakhmametov, was charged in the same indictment with conspiracy to commit and aid and abet bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.”Every step cybercriminals take in their pursuit of money leaves another track that leads us to their doorstep,” Aber said in a statement at the time. “And if you follow them on their path of greed, they will lead us to you. We will not stop, because while domains can always be seized, justice is unyielding.”In November 2024, a Virginia-based company and two of its senior executives, were accused of running “three different schemes to illegally transship sensitive American technology to Russia,” including sending equipment to a Russian telecommunications company linked to the Kremlin and Russia’s notorious FSB security agency.”We must not allow critical systems and technologies to be transferred to anyone who may use them against America and our global partners,” Aber said. “Guarding against these transfers is imperative, and violations of the laws that protect our national security will be met with ardent prosecution.”In late 2023, Aber was also involved in an indictment against four Russia-affiliated individuals charged with torture, inhuman treatment, and unlawful confinement of a U.S. national in Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The accused were named as Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan and Dmitry Budnik, along with two individuals identified only by their first names, Valerii and Nazar. “We are proud to be at the forefront of the Justice Department’s effort to hold perpetrators of war crimes violations accountable in Ukraine and will continue to pursue them,” Aber said.What People Are SayingAttorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that “the loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time.”Erik Siebert, current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said: “We are heartbroken beyond words to learn of the passing of our friend and former colleague, U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber. She was unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being. We remain in awe of how much she accomplished in her all too brief time in this world.”What Happens NextAn investigation is underway into the circumstances around Aber’s death, and no preliminary cause of death has been given.
