Federal prosecutors have arrested a soldier and intelligence analyst who allegedly sold national security secrets related to military weapons, exercises and development plans to a man who purported to be a Hong Kong-based geopolitical consultant, according to a federal indictment filed this week in Tennessee.
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Korbein Schultz, who served in the Army, received 14 payments totaling $42,000 between June 2022 and around October 2023, according to the indictment. He is charged with multiple crimes, including conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information and bribery of a public official.
Part of Schultz’s Army duties included training members of his unit on how to properly handle, store and disseminate classified and sensitive government information. He was arrested Thursday on the Fort Campbell military base, which is along the Kentucky and Tennessee border.
Schultz held a “top secret security clearance,” according to the indictment, which is the clearance that is required to access the most sensitive secrets. He also was permitted to access materials known as sensitive compartmented information, which is a more protected subset of top-secret information that includes material derived from secret sources and closely guarded intelligence methods.
“Today’s arrest shows that such a betrayal does not pay — the Department of Justice is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who would break their oath to protect our nation’s secrets,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a statement.
This indictment is the latest case to reveal how Americans with access to the nation’s most protected secrets can be prosecuted for allegedly circumventing the laws and safeguards that are meant to protect the information. Earlier this week, Jack Teixeira, who served in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that he leaked a trove of U.S. intelligence documents last year on Discord, an online chat platform popular with video gamers.
Former president Donald Trump is set to stand trial for allegedly retaining classified information at his Florida home after he left the White House in 2017 — and then thwarting officials’ attempts to retrieve them. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the indictment against Schultz, the soldier sold the secrets knowing that they could damage the United States. The purported Hong Kong-based consultant — whom the indictment identifies as Conspirator A — recruited Schultz and asked him to help him obtain specific information, such as what the U.S. plan would be if Taiwan came under military attack.
Among the information that Schultz provided to Conspirator A, per investigators: documents about the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), information on hypersonic equipment, studies on the future development of U.S. military forces, studies about countries such as China, and summaries of military drills and operations.
Schultz is also accused of handing over Air Force manuals related to specific aircraft and weapons systems. Distributing these materials violates the Arms Export Control Act, according to the indictment.
He allegedly communicated with Conspirator A through multiple encrypted channels online. Schultz was allegedly told he would be paid more money for information he sent that had higher classification levels.
At one point, according to the indictment, Conspirator A offered Schultz more money if a document about U.S. Navy exercises in the Philippine Sea that he provided contained classified information.
“I hope so! I need to get my other BMW back!” Schultz allegedly responded.
On Nov. 27, Conspirator A asked Schultz if they could speak on the phone to “to discuss work for the next year,” according to the indictment. The two then allegedly discussed their work plans.
“The unauthorized sale of such information violates our national security laws, compromises our safety, and cannot be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a statement.
Sign up for Fact Checker, our weekly review of what's true, false or in-between in politics.
Korbein Schultz, who served in the Army, received 14 payments totaling $42,000 between June 2022 and around October 2023, according to the indictment. He is charged with multiple crimes, including conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information and bribery of a public official.
Part of Schultz’s Army duties included training members of his unit on how to properly handle, store and disseminate classified and sensitive government information. He was arrested Thursday on the Fort Campbell military base, which is along the Kentucky and Tennessee border.
Schultz held a “top secret security clearance,” according to the indictment, which is the clearance that is required to access the most sensitive secrets. He also was permitted to access materials known as sensitive compartmented information, which is a more protected subset of top-secret information that includes material derived from secret sources and closely guarded intelligence methods.
“Today’s arrest shows that such a betrayal does not pay — the Department of Justice is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who would break their oath to protect our nation’s secrets,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a statement.
This indictment is the latest case to reveal how Americans with access to the nation’s most protected secrets can be prosecuted for allegedly circumventing the laws and safeguards that are meant to protect the information. Earlier this week, Jack Teixeira, who served in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that he leaked a trove of U.S. intelligence documents last year on Discord, an online chat platform popular with video gamers.
Former president Donald Trump is set to stand trial for allegedly retaining classified information at his Florida home after he left the White House in 2017 — and then thwarting officials’ attempts to retrieve them. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the indictment against Schultz, the soldier sold the secrets knowing that they could damage the United States. The purported Hong Kong-based consultant — whom the indictment identifies as Conspirator A — recruited Schultz and asked him to help him obtain specific information, such as what the U.S. plan would be if Taiwan came under military attack.
Among the information that Schultz provided to Conspirator A, per investigators: documents about the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), information on hypersonic equipment, studies on the future development of U.S. military forces, studies about countries such as China, and summaries of military drills and operations.
Schultz is also accused of handing over Air Force manuals related to specific aircraft and weapons systems. Distributing these materials violates the Arms Export Control Act, according to the indictment.
He allegedly communicated with Conspirator A through multiple encrypted channels online. Schultz was allegedly told he would be paid more money for information he sent that had higher classification levels.
At one point, according to the indictment, Conspirator A offered Schultz more money if a document about U.S. Navy exercises in the Philippine Sea that he provided contained classified information.
“I hope so! I need to get my other BMW back!” Schultz allegedly responded.
On Nov. 27, Conspirator A asked Schultz if they could speak on the phone to “to discuss work for the next year,” according to the indictment. The two then allegedly discussed their work plans.
“The unauthorized sale of such information violates our national security laws, compromises our safety, and cannot be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a statement.
