3 months ago
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(NewsNation) — A erstwhile U.S. Army sergeant has been sentenced to 4 years successful situation by a national justice for trying to walk delicate subject accusation to China.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, pleaded blameworthy to 2 felonies for offering classified accusation to the Chinese authorities on with a instrumentality that could summation entree to unafraid subject machine networks. According to the Justice Department, Schmidt had entree to delicate defence accusation successful his role.
Schmidt was progressive work from 2015 to 2020 and worked with the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion astatine Joint Base Lewis-McChord successful Washington state.
He near the Army successful January of 2020 and reached retired to the Chinese Consulate successful Turkey and the Chinese information services offering information. Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong successful March of that twelvemonth and continued to supply the classified information, including creating respective documents that described assorted "high level secrets."
Schmidt got a enactment visa successful China and lived determination for 3 years until flying to San Francisco, wherever helium was arrested successful October of 2023.
"As a retired Army officer, I find it unconscionable for a erstwhile worker to enactment his colleagues and state astatine hazard by peddling concealed accusation and quality entree to a hostile overseas power," U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said successful a DOJ quality release. "These cases stay a precedence for our bureau to support our state safe."
