The Latest: Treasury adviser appears in court on leak charge
By Associated Press
Oct 17, 2018 4:38 PM CDT
This image provided by the Alexandria Sheriff’s Department shows a mug shot of Natalie Mayflower Edwards. Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a Treasury Department employee, has been accused of leaking confidential banking reports of suspects charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. ...   (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a Treasury Department employee charged with leaking confidential reports to a journalist (all times local):

5:35 p.m.

A Treasury Department employee charged with leaking confidential banking reports of suspects in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation has appeared in court in Virginia.

Forty-year-old Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards was released on $100,000 bond following an appearance Wednesday afternoon in federal court.

She worked as a senior adviser at the department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Prosecutors say Edwards leaked several suspicious activity reports to a journalist. Prosecutors say reports on Paul Manafort, Richard Gates and Maria Butina were among those leaked.

Edwards' attorney, Peter Greenspun, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

The reporter wasn't identified in court papers, but the documents listed about a dozen stories published by BuzzFeed News over the past year and a half.

BuzzFeed spokesman Matt Mittenthal declined to comment.

The criminal complaint was filed in Manhattan.

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12:25 p.m.

A Treasury Department employee has been charged with leaking confidential banking reports of suspects charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Federal prosecutors say Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards is set to appear in court Wednesday in Virginia.

The 40-year-old Edwards is a senior official at the department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. She's accused of leaking the material to a journalist — who's not named in court papers.

Prosecutors say reports on Paul Manafort, Richard Gates and Maria Butina were among those leaked. Prosecutors allege Edwards photographed the confidential documents and sent them to the reporter using an encrypted messaging app.

Authorities say that when Edwards was arrested, she was found with a flash drive containing the confidential reports.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Edwards had an attorney who could comment.