U.S. Intelligence Officer Arrested For Selling Military Secrets To China
A 24-year-old U.S. Army intelligence analyst has been arrested for selling military secrets to China. Korbein Schultz, an Army soldier stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky and Tennessee was arrested on Thursday on charges of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license and bribery of a public official.
‘A Grave Betrayal’: U.S. Intelligence Officer Accused Of Selling Military Secrets To China https://t.co/FOJCgKmTgJ pic.twitter.com/S5jje5YtJY
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According to prosecutors, Schultz sent critical military documents to an individual in Hong Kong in exchange for a $42,000 payment. The documents Schultz sent the individual include information on the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, hypersonic equipment, studies on major countries like China, summaries of military drills and operations, as well as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
Schultz also sent the individual an Air Force Tactics Techniques and Procedures manual for the HH-60W helicopter, an Air Force Tactics Techniques and Procedures manual for intercontinental ballistic missile and an Air Force Tactics Techniques and Procedures manual for the F22-A fighter aircraft.
Prosecutors say Schultz carried out the illegal cooperation with the individual in Hong Kong from June 2022 till Thursday when he was arrested. The individual on the other end of the deal is a foreign national living in Hong Kong and working for a geopolitical consulting firm.
Schultz reportedly told the individual in Hong Kong that he “wished he could be ‘Jason Bourne.’”
He also allegedly told the individual in Hong Kong that he was considering “moving to Hong Kong and working for you in person.”
In announcing the alleged crime, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department said, “Mr. Schultz, a member of the U.S. Army, stands accused of conspiring to obtain and provide national defense information to an individual overseas. As part of the conspiracy, the defendant provided sensitive government information to his coconspirator in exchange for thousands of dollars, placing personal profit above the security of the American people.”
FBI National Security Official Larissa Knapp also weighed in on the offense, saying, “The conduct alleged in today’s indictment represents a grave betrayal of the oath sworn to defend our country. Instead of safeguarding national defense information, the defendant conspired with a foreign national to sell it, potentially endangering our national security.”
Appearing in federal court in Nashville on Friday, Schultz pled not guilty to the crimes he is charged with.