WASHINGTON – A former U.S. soldier accused of trying to share classified information with Beijing may have worked in intelligence, but no one would have known it because of his foiled plan.
Former Army Sgt. Joseph Schmidt, 29, was arrested Friday at San Francisco International Airport after disembarking from a flight from Hong Kong.
A grand jury indicted Schmidt on Wednesday for withholding and attempting to deliver national defense information, according to the Justice Department.
Schmidt, who served as leader of an Army human intelligence team supporting American espionage in the Indo-Pacific, is accused of trying to become a spy for China in a plot that began just days after he left the service in February. of 2020.
Schmidt’s failed plot, which prosecutors called “shocking,” was discovered after he allegedly conducted a series of highly suspicious Internet searches, including “can they be extradited for treason?”
google giveaway
During a trip to Istanbul the same month he left the military, Schmidt conducted nearly 30 Google searches related to defections and disclosure of military secrets, from “countries with the most negative relations with the United States” to “what is the agency of China’s intelligence? and “soldier defect,” according to an FBI investigative report.
Former Army Sgt. Joseph Schmidt, 29, was accused of trying to share classified information with Beijing.REUTERS
Other search terms included “espionage subreddit” and “find a subreddit about espionage topics.”
Schmidt also consulted Google Maps for directions from Beijing airport to the headquarters of China’s Ministry of State Security, which has a role similar to that of the CIA.
On February 24, 2020, Schmidt sent a message to the Chinese consulate in Istanbul requesting a meeting, calling himself an American citizen seeking to move to China.”
“I am also trying to share information I learned during my career as an interrogator with the Chinese government,” he wrote.
Schmidt was arrested Friday at San Francisco International Airport after disembarking from a flight from Hong Kong. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“I have a current Top Secret clearance and would like to speak to someone in the Government to share this information with you if possible.”
“My experience includes interrogation training, source management as a spy handler, surveillance detection and other advanced psychological operation strategies,” he continued.
“I would like to go over the details with you in person if possible, as I am concerned about discussing this over email.”
Two days later, Schmidt allegedly wrote a Microsoft Word document titled “Important Information to Share with the Chinese Government,” which contained a “variety of classified information related to national defense,” according to the FBI report.
He also contacted three state-owned Chinese propaganda outlets (People’s Daily, China Daily and Phoenix Television) asking them if they “would be interested in using any of my military stories in their newspaper.”
A grand jury indicted Schmidt on Wednesday for withholding and attempting to deliver national defense information, according to the Justice Department. AFP/Getty Images
“I think your audience would be very interested in reading some of these,” he wrote.
On March 9, 2020, Schmidt traveled to Beijing from Hong Kong, where he had gone three days earlier, and did another series of revealing Internet searches, including “What do real spies do and how are they recruited?” Espionage” and “If You’re a Spy, You’re Here,” in apparent attempts to learn how to break into the Chinese intelligence community.
The next day, according to investigators, mobile phone data indicated that Schmidt had investigated the Ministry of State Security.
Job search
In Hong Kong, without a work visa, Schmidt spent much of 2020 looking for work “so he could permanently move to China,” an agent wrote in the FBI report.
But as the coronavirus pandemic emerged, his career prospects were limited in the country.
On March 16, Schmidt created another document with a not-so-disguised title: “Top Level Secrets.”
In it, he described its contents as “a top-level secret of American intelligence.” [that] “It can help the Chinese people.”
“My last year in the military gave me experience working with an advanced intelligence team on a project with technology that is highly compartmentalized, to the point that most people in the intelligence field are unaware of its existence,” he wrote, according to the report.
Schmidt served as the leader of an Army human intelligence team that supported American espionage in the Indo-Pacific and is accused of trying to become a spy for China in a plot that began just days after he left the service in February 2020. AFP via Getty Images
“I will only discuss this technology in person if I can meet with a qualified member of China’s Security Bureau.”
He also offered to create programs that “mimic U.S. intelligence source management courses” or conduct “training for surveillance teams to more effectively identify U.S. spy handlers by training their intelligence teams in the most advanced techniques they use.” “U.S. intelligence forces use it.”
The document also included trade secrets from US intelligence and identified the locations of “numerous” US military bases.
With few options left, Schmidt reportedly approached a Chinese ID card company to see if they could reverse engineer a smart card used to access the US military’s internal intelligence network “where top secret documents and information are kept.” “.
“It is a very rare card to find outside of the intelligence community and, if used correctly, can improve China’s ability to access the SIPR network,” Schmidt wrote in an email to the company.
Schmidt’s failed plot, which prosecutors called “shocking,” was discovered after he allegedly conducted a series of highly suspicious Internet searches, including “Can you be extradited for treason?” AP
On May 12, Schmidt allegedly created a 28-slide PowerPoint presentation on “the use of technology in interrogations and military source operations,” which included classified information, according to the report.
Schmidt eventually received a work permit that allowed him to remain in Hong Kong, where he remained until his arrest, the report said. In an email, he told his sister that he had no intention of returning to the United States, citing “a disagreement with American policy,” and explained that he would be “limiting my contact with people who live in the United States.”
“I don’t talk about it often, but I learned some really terrible things about the American government while working in the military, and I no longer feel safe living in the United States,” he wrote, according to the report.
It was unclear what kind of employment – if any – Schmidt ultimately found in China.
The former soldier will now stand trial in Washington state, where he was when he allegedly stole the confidential information.
He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, according to the Justice Department.
“Members of our military take an oath to defend our country and the Constitution,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Tessa Gorman said in a statement.
“In that context, this former military officer’s alleged actions are shocking: he is not only attempting to provide national defense information, but also information that would help a foreign adversary gain access to the Department of Defense’s secure computer networks.”
“I commend the FBI for their diligent work in ending his alleged efforts to betray our country.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn