The Department of Defense logo design is seen ahead of an interview at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on August 15, 2023.
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WASHINGTON– A previous U.S. Army sergeant was jailed Friday for supposedly trying to supply classified nationwide security details to China, the U.S. Department of Justice stated.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 29, was nabbed at a San Francisco airport after he showed up there from China, the DOJ stated.
Schmidt supposedly started efforts to supply Chinese intelligence with U.S. defense details after separating from the military in January 2020, the department stated.
He left the U.S. for Hong Kong in March 2020 and remained there up until today, to continue those efforts, according to the DOJ.
Schmidt confronts 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine if founded guilty of the 2 felony counts he deals with in an indictment in Seattle federal court, that include effort to provide nationwide defense details and retention of such details.
He was arranged to appear in U.S. District Court in San Francisco later on. He will be given Seattle for more court, according to the DOJ.
Schmidt’s last task post was at Joint Base Lewis- McChord in Washington state.
He became part of the 109 th Military Intelligence Battalion, where he had access to details categorized “Secret” and “Top Secret,” the DOJ stated.
After leaving his service, Schmidt kept a gadget to permit access to protect military networks and used it to Chinese authorities, according to the department.
He is likewise implicated of connecting to both the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and the Chinese security services through e-mail to provide the details.
“Individuals entrusted with national defense information have a continuing duty to protect that information beyond their government service and certainly beyond our borders,” stated Matthew Olsen, assistant Attorney General for National Security, in a declaration.
Tessa Gorman, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, stated Schmidt broke his military oath “to defend our country and the Constitution,” Gorman stated.
“In that context, the alleged actions of this former military member are shocking — not only attempting to provide national defense information but also information that would assist a foreign adversary to gain access to Department of Defense secure computer networks,” the district attorney stated.
