U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst Korbein Schultz is accused with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information to China.
In what was called a press briefing with “national importance” in relation to national security, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, in conjunction with federal and military agencies, announced a federal indictment against a U.S. Army sergeant for unauthorized dissemination of sensitive national defense information to China.
Henry C. Leventis, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, alongside Special Agent in Charge Douglas DePodesta of the FBI Memphis Field Office and others, detailed the explosive charges at a press conference earlier on Thursday.
The indictment by a federal grand jury accuses U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst Korbein Schultz with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information to China, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of a public official. Mr. Schultz is a member of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and was arrested at the military base on March 7, and is set to make his initial court appearance tomorrow.
According to Mr. Leventis, Mr. Schultz misused his access to confidential U.S. military information for personal financial gain, trading national defense secrets for approximately $42,000 across 14 transactions with a co-conspirator in China. The compromised information included highly sensitive data on advanced U.S. military technology and Chinese military tactics, ranging from fighter aircraft and ballistic missiles to artillery systems.
Detailed Charges
The indictment alleged from June 2022 until the time of his arrest, Mr. Schultz conspired with an individual, identified as Conspirator A, “to disclose documents, writings, plans, maps, notes, and photographs relating to national defense as well as information relating to national defense which Schultz had reason to believe could be used to injure the United States or used to the advantage of a foreign nation.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Mr. Schultz, who possessed a Top Secret security clearance, was recruited to gather the information by Conspirator A.
By Chase Smith
