US Army analyst arrested for selling military secrets to China
A United States (US) Army intelligence analyst was apprehended on Thursday for allegedly selling national defense data to China, the Justice Department stated in an official release. The accused, identified as 24-year-old Sergeant Korbein Schultz, reportedly held a top-secret security clearance. He was taken into custody at Fort Campbell, a military base on the Tennessee-Kentucky border, following an inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Army counterintelligence.
Know about charges against Schultz
While Schultz's indictment didn't identify the nation he was supplying with tactful military information, several media reports have identified it as China. As per the indictment, the accused provided a contact in Hong Kong with maps, photographs, and documents relating to US national defense since June 2022. Reports also claimed that Schultz was paid a total of $42,000 for the insights.
List of military secrets allegedly leaked by Schultz
Moreover, the Justice Department claimed that the 24-year-old leaked other key information about the US's potential plans in the event that Taiwan came under military attack. Schultz also provided documents regarding hypersonic equipment, fighter aircraft, and helicopters, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), and studies on the American and Chinese military.
Top US official reacts to alleged defense info leak
US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Henry C Leventis said, "The men and women of the United States Armed Forces dedicate their lives to maintain our national security." "Our laws protecting national defense information are critical to that mission, and they must be enforced," he told reporters on Thursday (local time). Leventis also said that illegal dissemination of the country's defense puts America, its citizens, members of the military, and its allies at risk!
You can watch Leventis's full press address here
Recalling another leak incident in US
Schultz's indictment came right after the apprehension of two US Navy sailors in California on charges of spying for China in August last year. Petty officer Wenheng Zhao was sentenced to 27 months in prison in January 2024 after pleading guilty to charges of accepting a bribe and conspiring with a foreign intelligence officer. Meanwhile, the other US sailor charged in the case was Jinchao Wei.
